After the Rainfall
by Abbie1212
Summary: Ezra and Aria, my take starting after their kiss in the rain in 2x17... Ella is gone, and Ezra tries to help the whole family while still dealing with the concept of A, will they be able to make it? No matter how devoted they are? Read, Enjoy, and Review
1. Crash

Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars, I'm just having some fun

A/N: Hey, so really have recently got into the show… and love Ezra and Aria so much I just can't wait… so I figured I'd write a kind of parallel to what's going on starting the day after their kiss in the rain (2x17)… be sure to tell me how you like it :)

After the Rainfall

Chapter One:

Aria.

For the first time in weeks, I woke up with a smile on my face – and immediately masked it over with false pain. I felt like people would pick up on my happiness, and clearly my family was trying to forbid that, so I stepped up my acting game. I would tell everyone, and that really did mean everyone, that Ezra stood me up. No one could know, I was taking no chances this time. If this was going to work, the next year and a half were going to be nuts, but I would do it – for Ezra. This was going to require that – at least for a little while longer – I had to act as miserable as possible, even with my kiss with Ezra in the rain playing over and over in my head.

"What's up?" Mom asked as I appeared in the kitchen for breakfast, "You seemed a little happier last night. I thought you were starting to feel a little better."

"You don't want to hear it," I sat at the table with a bowl of cereal.

"Of course I do," She replied, "Despite what you may think, I do care."

"Fine. I miss Ezra," I said simply, "And before you get mad – you have to understand he was more than just a guy to me. He was my best friend – someone I could talk to about anything. I love him, and to go from sophisticated poetry writing man to a high school boy is not going to be easy."

"Holden isn't-"

"I know," I cut her off, "But – it's just not the same."

"Time for school," Dad came in, purposefully interrupting me, "Do you want to drive her, or should I?"

"I think she can handle driving herself," Mom replied and I gave her a surprised look as she handed me the keys –dad left the kitchen without a word.

"Seriously?" I verified as I took the keys from her.

"I know Ezra meant a lot to you," She sighed, "And I appreciate your trying to recover—why don't we have a girls night tonight? When I get home from work? We'll send Mike and your dad out somewhere."

"Thanks, mom. I'd like that. But, I love Ezra – even if we're not together," I told her, "I don't know that I'll ever not…"

"Well maybe later on – but for now you should focus on being a teenager," Mom said, "But I wouldn't on him waiting for you."

Oh, I think he would.

"I'm late."

My blood was boiling. I knew she was only trying to help, be encouraging, and make me feel better. However, the part about being a teenager – it killed me – it made me want to go at something with a baseball bat. What teenage years was she referencing? I understood it, she wanted me to have a normal adolescence – but it was a little late for that. My adolescence was murdered with Alison, ruined when dad made me keep his affair from mom, soiled with having to deal with Mike's issues, and haunted by A. Yeah, being with Ezra – who made me feel beautiful, loved, safe, and cared for – was what was going to destroy my adolescence.

"Aria," I was halfway down the hall to my locker by the time I came out of my internal rant – Hanna was waiting for me.

"Hey," I said casually as I opened my locker, trying not to make eye contact – worried my miserable façade would dissolve.

"So how'd it go last night?" I was rifling through the piles of books in my locker.

"He didn't show up," I was sure she knew it was a lie.

"Are you ok?"

"No," I answered, "But I will be. I'm more angry than anything else."

"It doesn't make sense," She said as we started walking to class, "He was willing to stand in front of your parents and tell them he was in love with you…"

"Yeah, well maybe he decided I just wasn't worth it."

"Don't be stupid Aria," Hanna rolled her eyes, "He loves you, way too much. He's probably doing some weird heroic thing."

I just kept my mouth shut. I was glad that I had good friends, because if Ezra really hadn't shown up – Hanna's words might have helped. Or at least the fact that she was trying to make me feel better would have slightly lightened my day. We very quickly made plans for lunch, and then headed off to our respective rooms for first period. At lunch, I would figure out how to borrow someone's phone and call Ezra. See if I could sneak off to see him before I went home. Mom wouldn't be home until seven, and dad even later. Mike had a detention, mom had to pick him up before she came home.

"Over here, Aria," Hanna called as I carried my tray aimlessly through the cafeteria.

"Hey guys," I said gloomily as I set my tray down – sitting between Spencer and Emily.

"Ok," Hanna said cheerfully, "You two need to chin up."

"Chin up?" Spencer asked and I just looked at her like she was nuts.

"Yeah, there's not much to chin up about," I commented and Emily gave us a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, c'mon guys," Emily said, "Leave 'em alone."

"Hey," I said, pretending to check my phone in my purse, "My phone's dead. Can I borrow someone's? I have to call Mike, ask him when I have to pick him up."

"Here, use mine," Emily handed hers over.

"Thanks."

I took it over to the side of the room where I would have a little privacy. I dialed Ezra's number as quickly as possible and then looked out the window as it rang.

"Hello?" He answered, and I had to be very careful not to smile.

"Hey," I said, "Are you going to be at your apartment this afternoon?"

"Should I be?"

"I have about four hours after school."

"Letting up on house arrest?"

"A little," I replied, I felt bad – mom was trusting me here, but there was no reason to let it stop me.

"I'll be there," He chuckled, and I could see his smile.

"Damn," I mumbled and he chuckled.

"What?"

"You're so damn sexy," I said softly and he chuckled.

"Just wait until you're here - in my arms."

"I miss you so much."

"You just saw me last night."

"Barely," I said, as I saw Hanna looking over concernedly - asking Mike for a time didn't take this long, "Hey, I have to go - but you'll be there, right?"

"Yes," His answer was instant, "I love you, Aria."

"I love you," I replied, hanging up – and quickly deleting the call from the history – then calling Mike.

"Hello?" A completely bewildered Mike answered the phone.

"It's Aria," I told him, "My phone died – I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok today."

"Thanks?" He replied, "Why do you sound so-"

"I was trying to be peppy."

"Don't," He said simply, "I know you're... upset. About everything that happened with Mr. Fitz. I'm sorry I reacted like that, too."

"It's ok, Mike," I wasn't even sure if I was lying or not, "I have to go, I'll talk to you later tonight, ok?"

I still wasn't at all happy with him for hitting Ezra, but honestly it probably would have been him or dad. I hung up and then made my way back to the lunch table. I handed back Emily's phone to her and the rest of the day seemed to drag on from there. Maybe it was just because I knew I was finally going to be able to see Ezra after school, or maybe it was just World History class was just that boring. I stooped to doodling in my notes while the teacher talked, and made sure I was ready to bolt as soon as the last bell sounded.

I went out to the parking lot, avoiding any normal routes where I might see anyone I knew. I got into my car and drove off before anyone could say anything to me. I parked the car in the bushes, as per usual, behind Ezra's apartment building. I looked around, probably more than I should have before I bolted inside. I went up the stairs up to his door in a normal fashion, as to not alarm or alert his neighbors. I knocked on his door and it swung open just about immediately. I stepped inside and right into Ezra's arms – the door closing behind me.

"Mmm," He smiled as I looked up at him, "I never thought I'd see you in here again."

"I would have found a way," I told him, leaning up and stealing a quick kiss he was only too willing to give away, "The only way you wouldn't have was if you didn't want to."

"Well that's just stupid," He chuckled as he leaned in and kissed me again.

"Hey," I allowed him to lead me to the couch, "You weren't answering my calls – I didn't know what to..."

"Ok," He stopped me, wrapping me up in his arms, "I promise I'll never do that to you again."

"Thank you," I said, fully aware he was teasing me.

"But even if I was, you should know by now that I love you more than anything in the world," He replied, and I smiled, "Movie?"

"I think I'm signed up for at least two with mom when I get home."

He nodded understandingly.

"Well, in that case," He started, as he kissed the top of my head.

"If you could just hold me?" I suggested, "That'd be really nice. I've missed it."

After a little while we just started talking to each other, about nothing – for hours. I missed it, I had missed him – far too much for me to even try to communicate. Then, lying there in his arms spooning on his couch, it was like heaven. Or at least that was the only thing I could compare it to. It had been like having been stuck in purgatory, not sure which way I was in favor of then finally crossing into the pearly gates. To know that Ezra and I were not giving up, and we weren't going to let anything get in our way any more. He was mine, and I was his – that was just the way it was, and the way it was going to be.

Four hours passed much too quickly, but we made a plan to meet up two days later. I would "go out" with Holden and he'd pick me up near the movie theater. I gave him one last kiss goodbye and headed out towards home. It was going to turn out perfectly, I would be home just in time for the car to cool down before mom got home. I had to calm down as I walked into the empty house.

I was, for once, absolutely ecstatic that no one was home. I turned up the music and danced around, then calmed down just enough so that my miserable facade could return. I settled down and threw a few bags of popcorn into the microwave – this as a car pulled into the driveway. I took a deep breath, it had to be mom.

"Aria?" It was dad.

"Dad?"

I was confused, he wasn't supposed to be home yet.

"What're you doing here?"

"Get your coat."

"Dad.." I started as he threw it at me, "Is everything ok?"

"No," He said, "We're going to the hospital – your brother and mother were in a car accident."

"What?" I asked, "Mike? I thought you were picking him up."

"I was supposed to," He replied, backing the car out of the driveway.

I was quiet the rest of the way to the hospital – except for the quick text I sent to Spencer. It explained what was happening and where I was headed. I told her to tell the others, and I didn't know any of the details but if she could be prepared to come meet me at the hospital. There was a reason I didn't know any of the details: I was afraid to ask. It clearly wasn't a fender-bender, but I was afraid to ask just how bad it was. Luckily, dad didn't seem to feel the need to tell me.

I wasn't sure whether it was encouraging or not that he took the time to pick an actual legitimate parking space. I figured it was a neutral action, seeing as he then left the car door open as he headed for the emergency entrance. I shut it, then ran after him. We got in there and Mike was sitting in a bed in the hallway. He was all scraped up, bits of glass in his hair and his arms had what looked like road rash all over them. Other than that, he looked good. He was awake, alert, and was holding his arm weird.

"Dad, Aria," He said.

"What's the matter with your arm?"

"Doc said it's broken," He replied, "Do you know anything about mom?"

"I'm going to check on that now," Dad said as he walked away.

"What happened?" I asked him as soon as dad was gone.

"Mom and I were driving home when some psychopath came out of no where," He said, "We had just barely left the school parking lot, I don't even know if mom got her seat belt on. I can't remember a thing. They told me they had to take mom straight into surgery when I woke up."

"How hard did they hit you guys?"

"I don't know," He replied, "Pretty hard – the cops said they took off."

"Then who called it in?"

"A passerby," Mike said it simply, but motioned over towards the waiting room.

I followed his head nod to see a slightly frazzled looking Ezra. My Ezra. He was chewing on his fingernail nervously, and looking around – like he was waiting for someone to start screaming at him. He ran his hands through his hair a few times and checked his watch.

"Seriously?" I asked Mike, and he nodded.

"He pulled me out of the car," said Mike, "It was leaking something...Go ahead. Go talk to him, I'll explain to dad, It'll be ok."

"I don't think it will," I said and Mike shrugged.

"He asked me earlier if he should go before you guys got here," Mike looked at me seriously, "He seemed really worried about mom, and I told him to stick around. There's no reason to make him go – he may just have saved our lives."

"I don't think he wants to talk to me," I replied, trying to continue the facade of me not seeing him since he was at the house.

"Better you than dad," He pointed out and I nodded, took a piece of glass out of his hair and headed towards Ezra.

"Aria," He sounded almost out of breath as I walked over to him – he got up and gave me a huge hug.

"Did you see my mom before she went into surgery?"

"Yeah," He said, and by his tone I knew it wasn't good, "I went out to get dinner and just happened to see the accident. Have the doctors told you anything?"

"No. We just here – saw Mike in the hall but all he could remember was him coming around and the doctors telling him mom was in surgery."

"Oh," He sat back down and guided me into the seat next to him.

"What?"

"Aria," He said my name carefully, "Your mom smashed her head on the windshield. She was alive when we got to the hospital, but she was in really bad shape. Saying, incoherent things, and telling me that you loved me, and how could I not care. Things like that. She said something – it doesn't matter. They took her right into surgery while I sat with Mike. They told Mike that she might not make it – but he was out of it. They have him on all sorts of pain meds for his arm. When he came back around I just told him she was in surgery."

"Ok," I took a deep breath, and exhaled, "Thank you, for staying to talk to me. You should go though – before dad sees you. I'll call you and tell you how she's doing."

"Aria, I'm not going anywhere," He told me, "Especially not now – unless your dad decides he wants to call the cops and get a restraining order – I'm here."

"All that won't be necessary," I heard dad's voice before I looked up and saw him, "I'm thinking thanks are in order here."

"Not at all needed," Ezra swallowed nervously.

"They took Mike for an X-ray," He said, "And your mother's stable in surgery. Ezra – from what Mike told me you saw the whole thing?"

"Yeah, I was headed to go get some dinner..."

"What happened?"

Dad was being nice, and Ezra just started talking – taking advantage of the moment.

"I was going to find some dinner when I passed the high school," He started, "I saw a car coming out of the parking lot, but there was someone driving the wrong way on the street. They smashed right into the driver's side and the car almost tipped over. They took off and I ran over to the car, which is when I realized who it was. Mike was concious but groggy and not quite sure where he was, he had smashed his arm against the door on impact. Ella was unconcious, slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding from her forehead. I checked her pulse, and made sure she was breathing. I called the ambulance, and then smelled gas leaking out of the car. I told Mike to get out of the car, and lifted Ella, very carefully and laid her on the grass a ways away from the car. Mike passed out and I woke him up, told him to keep his eyes open – he has a concussion – and helped him out and brought him over to where Ella was. Ella looked – terrible so I had Mike stare at the sky. Then the ambulances got there."

"Ella hit her head? On the Windshield." Dad clarified and Ezra nodded.

"Her head was bleeding, the windshield was starred," Ezra said and Dad nodded, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Montgomery."

"Relax, not your fault," He said, "You did what you could. Thanks for, taking care of Mike."

Ezra nodded silently, and I wanted to put my hand on his arm – but didn't want to push it. I leaned back, I wanted to be in Ezra's arms, I wanted him to be able to comfort me. I took a deep breath and Ezra just looked at me, and I knew that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for sticking around for Mike," Dad said briskly, "But this is really a family affair. You should go get something to eat. I'll let you know how Ella is tomorrow?"

"Well, I'd like to stick around for – everyone – that's ok," Ezra tried.

"Ezra, I don't know how much contact you've had with Aria the past couple weeks – but she's moved on," Dad very quietly, and Ezra raised his eyebrows, "She's seeing someone else – and I've called him so he can come and stay with us."

"What?"

"Holden," Dad looked at me like I was crazy, "He's on his way. It probably wouldn't be the best idea if Ezra was still here when he got here..."

"Aria!" Spencer just about shouted as she walked into the waiting room, "Ez- Mr. Fitz, what're you doing here?"

She looked like she was about to stab him with a pitch fork.

"I guess I'm going," Ezra said, getting up – acting very wounded – I'd have to call him later.

"Yeah," Spencer was furious, "I think that's an excellent idea."

"Spencer..." I tried to calm her as Ezra gave a little wave.

"Let me know how Ella is..." He said just as he left.


	2. Run

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews... was not expecting that at all... So glad you guys like it so much so far, and hopefully you'll continue to enjoy! The point of me putting "Aria" at the beginning of each chapter is just so that when (or if) I switch to another character's pov... it'll just make more sense. Ok. Read. Enjoy. And of course, Review. :)

Chapter Two:

Aria.

I took a deep rattling breath as I got out of the car at my usual parking spot behind Ezra's. Dad had sent me home – opting to stay himself with mom and Mike, I just couldn't stay in that hospital anymore. I told dad I'd go home and lock up, make sure all the lights were off, but then I was sleeping at the Hastings'. In turn, I had sent a quick text out to Spencer warning her I had done this, and that I'd explain it all to her tomorrow. I couldn't think about anything at the moment, or else I wouldn't be able to get inside. All I wanted was for Ezra to hold me, because with everything that my world had just turned into, he was still good.

I had to be at the hospital again in the morning, because dad was stranded. It wasn't like either of us would be going to school or work so there really was nothing stopping me from sleeping at Ezra's tonight. I'd get up when he did to go to work and I'd go home and change, then head over. However, mostly I just wanted to not be at the hospital – I wanted to escape. Judging by the prognosis I'd be going to and from a lot, I just wanted to have one more night, though I knew that to be impossible. Once I was at Ezra's door I knocked, and was genuinely surprised when the movement of my arm didn't just knock me over.

"Aria," He didn't look at all better than he had leaving the hospital as he swung open the door and took me into his arms, "Is everything ok? How's your mom? How're you here?"

"I should come inside," I pointed out and he nodded, kissing my forehead as he pulled me in, the door too behind me.

"Of course," He replied.

"Dad stayed at the hospital, I had to get out," I said, "So he's at the hospital and I'm here. I told him I'd be at Spencer, and Spencer to say that I did. Mike's going to be fine – they just want to keep him overnight – especially with mom. Mom's in a coma, and on a ventilator and not looking good – but I don't want to talk about it. At least, not now – not tonight."

"Ok," He said, swallowing as I sat down on the couch – and he sat beside me, wrapping me up in his arms, "May I ask what your dad meant when he said you'd moved on? Who's Holden?"

"Holden is a guy I grew up with. My mom tried to set me up with him, and I was trying to plot to see you," I said, "You met him, at the theater. He was helping me see you, because he doesn't like me like that either. And we told both our parents we're just friends, but obviously they were very adamant that I just find someone – anyone – and forget about you – which wasn't and isn't ever going to happen. I was talking about it with mom this morning, actually."

"That makes sense," He replied, and I nodded as I closed my eyes, he kissed my forehead.

"So can we watch a movie or something?" I asked and he nodded.

"Of course," He got up and went to throw in the next movie we had on our list.

While he was doing that, I got up and went to my overnight bag. I changed quickly into my pajamas in the bathroom, then brushed my teeth too. I knew I wouldn't be making it too much into the movie, especially considering how exhausted I was. Then, couple that with the feeling I got whenever I was in Ezra's arms – that sleepy, drowsy, 'I'm so comfortable I just want to fall asleep and never wake up' feeling just took over.

I walked back into the room and Ezra was out. He was sprawled out on the couch, and the movie was in it's opening scenes. I chuckled a little to myself, not able to help it – he was so cute. He was just lying there with his hair all messed up and his body just crumpled all over itself – one foot on the floor and the other barely onto the edge of the couch. I shut the movie off and walked over and knelt down by his face. I ran my fingers through the side of his hair, and kissed his forehead lightly. He shifted slightly, and I kissed him carefully on the lips.

"Mm," He murmured as I pulled away.

"C'mon," I whispered, "Time for bed."

"Yeah," He mumbled, barely getting his eyes open.

I took his hand and led him towards his bed. I laid down and faced the wall, and heard him getting ready behind me. He climbed in a few minutes later, and my eyes were all ready closed. He wrapped his arms around me, and I was surprised to feel skin on my shoulder. I turned and he smiled as I leaned in and kissed his bare chest.

"I love you," It almost sounded like a confession as I buried my forehead into his chest.

"Aria, you are my life," He snuggled me tighter, kissing the top of my head.

I didn't wake up at all in the middle of the night, and was simply out cold quickly after hearing him speak. I was just so warm, safe, and nothing could bother me – Ezra had me. His alarm woke us up in the morning and he had to let go of me momentarily to shut it off – then wrapped his arms right back around me, kissing my forehead. He gave me a quickly squeeze, like he was surprised I hadn't run away in the short time it had taken him to shut it off.

"You have to get to work," I reminded him as he kissed the side of my neck.

"Well I guess I should..." He trailed off.

"I have to get to the hospital," I said it more to myself then to him, but he nodded.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along?"

"No, you go to work," I insisted, "I'll try to call you around lunch? Ah, that really wasn't just all a nightmare?"

"Wish it was."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being here, letting me crash," I tried to explain, "For holding me like you did last night."

He kissed me softly.

"Aria, I love you," He said, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm here for you – whenever you need me. No matter what's going on."

"You're so sweet," I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

He rolled over onto his back and I went to hover above him. He smiled, like all he had ever wanted was to see me up there. I leaned down and kissed across from his shoulder, up his neck, and pecked his lips quickly. I started to pull away and I suddenly found myself back to the mattress with Ezra pinning me down. I giggled, smiling happily as he attacked my neck with kisses before swooping in and kissing me, passionately.

"Ezra," I pleaded – but wasn't sure for what – air maybe.

"Sorry," He apologized, kissing my cheek as he stroked my side softly, "Got carried away."

"It's fine," I smiled dreamily as he fell onto the bed beside me, curling his body around mine, "Are you sure we can't just lay like this all day?"

"Maybe one day we can," He said, "But, as you've pointed out, I have to go to work, and you have to go to the hospital."

"From what the doctors have said, I'll be going to the hospital for weeks to come," I replied and he made a pouting face.

"I'm sorry," He replied, leaning in and kissing my forehead.

"I wish you could come with me," I said, "But, maybe in a little bit."

"I don't like the idea of Holden," Ezra said and I chuckled.

"Well it's Friday, so maybe I can see you at some point tomorrow?" I replied, "I can't spend a full day in the hospital."

"Ok," He nodded, "Any reason to see you is fine. Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee or something?"

"You mean meet out of town?"

"Absolutely, tomorrow – noon," He suggested.

"The Bean?" I requested.

I had only been there once, and no one ever went anyways. Ezra and I stopped in on the way back from Philadelphia when we went to the art opening. He smiled as the sun came in through the window, shining on his hair. This when I couldn't help but reach over and run my fingers through his hair. He smiled, letting his eyes close - I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," I said simply, "I gotta go home, shower – get ready go see Mike and Mom."

I got up – changed, and packed up. Ezra saw me to the door and then I was on my own. An hour later I pulled into the hospital, prepared to give my dad the chance to go home for a little while. Walking into the hospital, I saw Mike right away. He was at a vending machine – in normal dress. I walked up behind him and put a hand on his back.

"You ok?"

"Eh," He replied, turning around to see me face to face, "How's Mr. Fitz?"

"Mike..."

"Oh, c'mon," He said, "You don't think I knew that was exactly where you were headed when you left here?"

"Don't tell..."

"C'mon I'm not that much of an idiot," He replied, "I owe him a little bit, now – we all do. Even if dad can't see it yet."

"Thanks, Mike – that's incredibly – mature."

"Don't be so shocked," He replied., "There's also that bit about you liking to bare everyone's burden on yourself. It's good to know while you're taking care of all of us there's someone there for you too."

"Thanks, Mike," I leaned in and hugged him, "How's mom?"

"No change last I checked," He shrugged, "Dad's in with her."

"How's she look?" I asked and he shrugged.

"No change," He repeated the words, he seemed tired.

"You should head home."

"Can't drive."

"I'll get dad," I said, "He should at least go home for a few minutes, shower, and clean up. Maybe he'll feel better."

"Ok," Mike replied and I headed into mom's room.

"Hey, dad," I walked in carefully, "Ah, I think you should take Mike home – so he can relax a little better. You too, get a shower. The doctors are still saying that there's no change, I'll stay with her while you're gone. I'd like a little alone time with her anyways."

"Thank-you, Aria," He said, "That'd be nice. You'll call me?"

"Of course," I replied as he got himself together and headed out of the room, kissing mom on the forehead as he headed out.

"Hey, mom," I said, taking out my journal – Then I put it down on the table, "You have to wake up – you realize that, right? Dad, Mike, and I – we're not going to be ok if you're not – you just have to wake up."

There was no response, like I had actually thought there would be one. I picked up a pen and started scribbling down my thoughts, Ezra, mom, dad's attitude, Mike's surprising response. I heard the door creek open, for the nurses to come in and check, watched as they did all her vitals, and then watched them close the door again. I closed my journal and put down my pen – looking at my mother in her hospital bed.

It was kind of scarey seeing her like that. She had tubes shoved down her throat and wires plugged into her everywhere. It was terrifying. I kept thinking that at any moment – I could lose her. My mother, she could be gone. Then I would condemn myself, tell myself I couldn't think like that, not right now. Not this soon. People woke up from comas all the time, why wouldn't mom be one of them? It wasn't much of a stretch – she could be pretty tough when she wanted to be.

"Mom," I said it low, who knew when dad would be back, "I don't know what I'm going to do if you don't make it. Honestly, I might just collapse, or... I don't know. Depression? I guess, and how much of that will Ezra stick around for? Yeah, mom I'm still in love with him, and he's in love with me. I guess it would have been better if we had just waited, huh? Til I was a little older? Would you guys have been better off then? But you were trying to hook me up with Jason – Ezra didn't like it...I don't know why I'm explaining this all to you..."

I sat there in near silence for another hour and a half. The near silence was only because Spencer, Hanna, and Emily were each texting me in turn. They were checking up on me, and Spencer was reminding me that I owed her a call to explain the night before. I told her to call me when she could after school. When I looked at the clock again, it was almost noon. I wondered if Ezra was waiting on my call – or just casually going about his day. Probably a little bit of both, he knew if something really happened he would get a call right away.

"Hey," Dad announced his presence, walking through the door with flowers in his hands.

"Where's Mike?" I watched him set the flowers down on the table beside her bed.

"Stayed home to take a nap," He replied, I nodded.

"You want something to eat? I was going to run down to the cafeteria."

"Just grab me something little?" He replied – and I nodded as he handed me a few bucks.

I walked towards the first payphone first, to call Ezra. I looked both ways, saw a few doctors here and there. However, none were my mother's and none knew anything about the situation. I dialed Ezra, and it barely rang once before he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey," I replied.

"Aria!" He sounded relieved, "I was worried about you."

"Why? I told you I'd call at noon," I replied.

"As soon as you left I got this awful feeling that something was wrong," He told me, I could just picture him behind his desk, relaxed – talking to me now, "But I didn't want to call – and I didn't want to mess you up if you were doing something important, or with your father."

"You really shouldn't be afraid of him," I replied and he chuckled.

"Yeah," He replied, "Don't know why I'd be so afraid of me. Other than the fact that the man could completely destroy me at any moment he chooses."

"Except he couldn't – especially not now," I replied and I heard a small grunt of sarcastic agreement, "Ezra, I don't know what I would do with out you now. Mike knows – he promised not to say anything, he figures he owes you, and somehow has realized that it doesn't matter whether it's wrong or right – and you're exactly what I need. Well, he didn't put it like that but that's what he was getting at."

"I don't want him to feel like he owes me."

"That's because you're perfect, Ezra," I was starting to curl the phone cord around my finger, "In all honesty, we all owe you."

"No, you don't," Ezra replied, "I want your dad to like me, not for what I did – anyone would have done that. I want him to realize how much I love you..."

"That make take a while."

"Well, I'm planning on being around as long as you'll let me stay," He said, "So hopefully 'a while' won't be all that long in comparison. How's your mom?"

"No change," I relayed the cold words of Mike from before, "Still, no change. She should be getting better by now, right?"

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor," He sighed, "You could either take it as 'she's taking the time to get better' or 'It's taking a long time for her to get better...' but either way, I just want to make sure you'll survive. I mean, I know you won't be ok if this all goes south, but I want to make sure you will be – if that makes any sense at all."

"No, it does," I replied, "Well, I have to get dad and I something to eat. I'll try and call you later, ok?"

"Ok," I could almost see his smile, and I couldn't help but, "I love you."

"I love you, bye," I said, and hung up.

Then began my quest to get to the cafeteria and back to dad without him noticing something fishy. I grabbed myself a sandwich, a bottled iced tea, and dad a muffin and some coffee. He didn't look like he had gotten any sleep whatsoever. I carried the food back to the room and set the muffin and coffee down in front of him. He was sitting on the edge of the seat closest to the bed, holding mom's IV ridden hand. I went to sit down in a chair across the room and dad's head popped up.

"Would you go home and be with Mike?" He asked, "I mean if you want to stay...I just don't want him waking up in the house alone."

"That's fine," I told him, "You know me, I can't stay in hospitals too long. Call me if anything changes? Mike and I'll be here in five."

"Thanks," He replied and I nodded as I headed out of the room.

Spencer texted me when I got out to the parking lot, and I told her to just come over after school. She said she got all my school stuff for the day. I headed home, and thankfully got there before Mike was awake. I popped my head into his room to see him sleeping, then headed back downstairs – only to have my phone go off again.

_Precious Mike perfectly safe? Too bad mommy wasn't so lucky. Doesn't seem right now, does it? Ezra's a good safety to be able to run to, huh? -A_

I felt goosebumps pop up all over, and looked around. Like A would show themselves now. I jumped when the door opened and Spencer walked into the house. I went to call out to her, that was I sitting on the couch – but she turned and saw me before I could say anything. She set a few books and a couple assignments down on the coffee table in front of me.

"You ok? How's your mom?" She had been in the hospital until late hours with us last night.

Holden and she and basically spent the night there with me. Holden, not so much. He came for show, then made some excuse to leave. Spencer had stayed all the while mom was in surgery, only leaving about five minutes before I did.

"No change," I could almost put an optimistic falsity to it now – did that mean I was starting to accept it?

"So what was up with last night?"

"I stayed at Ezra's."

"Seriously? The guy stands you up in the rain and you..."

"No," I told her, "He didn't stand me up. We actually had a spectacular kiss in the rain before having a discussion about how completely insane we were for not being able to stop it."

"Well you've got that right," She replied, "But why'd you lie to us about it?"

"Because now we have to be really careful no one knows," I replied, "My parents are suspicious – they're right – but they're suspicious. And, with A going after Toby – but that doesn't even matter now because A knows we're back together."

"Really?"

"I got a text just before you showed up."

"They know? About Ezra?" She asked, "You hadn't told anyone."

"I'm coming to the conclusion that A always knows everything," I rolled my eyes, "They knew before you all did in the beginning too. Mike knew last night, but he's not saying anything."

"That's good at least," She said, "I mean, about Mike."

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Now about the hit and run, we were talking about it last night – do you think it might've been A?"

"'We'?"

"Hanna, Emily, and I."

"Right," I comprehended, "Wait, you think?"

"Yes. It's way too much of a coincidence for Ezra to have been the next car," She ran a hand through her own hair to get it out of her face, "And it wouldn't exactly be A's first hit and run."

"Aria?" We heard Mike in the kitchen, heading into the living room where we were sitting.

"What's up, Mike?"

"Nothing. Are there any leftovers in the fridge?"

"I don't think so," I responded, getting up from the couch, "We can grab a pizza or something on the way back to the hospital tonight."

"Ok," He grabbed a snack from the cabinet.

"I'm going to get going," Spencer gathered her things and headed for the door, "Give me a call if you have any trouble with the homework. Mike, hope you feel better. And, keep me in the loop with your mom."

"Will do," I called after her, and she smiled weakly just before she went out the door.

I sat back down on the couch once Spencer was gone – thinking. The more I thought about it, my friends' theory seemed more and more accurate, and I got more and more angry about it. But if it was A, why didn't I get a text the night before? Did they think it was so trademark them it didn't need a tag to go along with it? Why target mom, or Mike? A usually had a reason, I'll be it stupid, to do something – especially with something like this. Yet, there was no instant or definable reason for this, at least not that I could see.


	3. Broken

A/N: Ok, so I can only write in one POV for so long... so we get some Ezra now? I think the story will be mostly in Aria's POV, but with other people sprinkled in there too...this one's a little shorter –f be sure to let me know how you like it, ok? Read. Enjoy. Review. :)

Chapter Three:

Ezra.

I felt like some sort of fugitive, though I didn't know why as I climbed into my car to leave my apartment on Saturday. I was thinking about stopping in at Hollis, but decided against it, and instead headed straight to The Bean. I was desperate to see Aria, having not really heard from her in twenty-four hours. I took a deep breath and told myself everything was fine. Aria was her own person, the fact that I worried about her as much as I did just showed how much I loved her. I couldn't help but worry, I just didn't need to act on every stomach turn. We were in a rough situation.

I walked into the little coffee shop and picked a table towards the back where I put down my coat. Then, I took one sweep of the shop, seeing that it was of average capacity – a few people scattered through the little shop. I went up to the counter and ordered myself a sandwich, and Aria a cup of her favorite soup with two of their specialty coffees, the ones we had had last time. I had just brought all the food back to the table when Aria walked in, scarf around her neck looking somewhat frazzled.

This was only the expression on her face, otherwise she looked – well – just as flawless as ever. She spotted me, her irreplaceable cinnamon eyes locked with mine and she smiled. But to me it wasn't a smile, it was – everything. I caught it like an infection and grinned – I'm sure like a moron – as she walked over to the table and sat down.

"You know me so well," She told me as she spotted the soup.

"I'm glad you like it," I chuckled as I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

She smiled as she put her soup spoon down. I stayed where I was, leaning halfway across the table. She put her hand up onto my cheek and kissed me softly. It was like some sort of magic, the way she effected me – we were like magnets. Magnets that somehow couldn't be apart, somehow felt so incredibly incomplete apart. I couldn't even count the number of times in the past couple days that the thought "I should be with Aria, right now" crossed my mind. Whether I was sitting in the hospital with her, or just sitting with her anywhere – but I knew that I was doing all that I could. She was guarded anyways, this was probably about as much as she would let me do anyways.

"You ok?" She asked, I guess there was some sort of reminder of sadness in my eyes – could she tell how much I just wanted to be with her? Protect her? Take care of her?

"I'm just thinking about how much I wish I could better be there for you," I said quietly, "At the hospital, with you – anywhere. And honestly, I wish I could protect you. Be there for you."

"Ezra, you are," She replied, blinking and momentarily depriving me from her beautiful eyes, "I'm so in love with you – it's ridiculous. You are here for me, I feel bad that my family's so.."

"It's to be expected," I reminded her as her hand dropped off my face – I had to resist a pout.

"It won't matter, in the long run," She told me, "Eventually? All of this will be an almost laughable situation."

"All of this?" I questioned, and she nodded.

"Well they'll probably never like that you were ever my teacher," She admitted, "But I love you, in a few years they're not going to have a say in the matter – and they'll start to like you again."

I nodded, better than stating my doubts in her theory. I also noticed her use of 'they' in reference to her parents. What was going to happen if Ella didn't make it? I would be there her, but how much comfort could I really provide for her? When my father died – it wasn't good. I was terrified that the same would happen to her, she would go into that spiraling depression – that feeling of purposelessness that comes along with any death, especially a parent's. I didn't want that for her, in fact that was the exact last thing I would want for anyone, much less Aria – my Aria.

Would I lose her? Would her father take her away from me? That's what they did, right? When someone died the Montgomery's packed up and left for a while, that was what they did when Aria's friend Alison died, right? Given the current situation, would I even be granted a way to say goodbye? Would we survive a year or so apart? I knew I could wait for her, but would she lose interest? Find someone else who her father wasn't going to try and beat with a baseball bat? Or worse.

"Ezra you're leaving me again," She teased and I smiled sweetly, "Can you stay with me here?"

"Sorry," I took a deep breath, and put a weak smile back on my face, "I just want you to know, no matter what happens – I will always love you, no matter what."

"You ok?" She asked, "You're not leaving, are you? Is there something going on with you?"

"No," My answer was immediate, "I just wanted you to know."

"So I have to eventually head back to the hospital," Aria seemed savvy to change the subject, "But, I might have a little time for a walk or something."

"Well, on my way here I noticed a bookshop down the street" I informed her, "I'm not talking a Barnes & Nobles here, I'm talking like just shelves of not well organized random books you'd probably never find anywhere else."

"That sounds amazing,"

We finished up our lunch, then I took her by the hand and led her up the street. I turned, as we were walking to see her smiling, looking ahead of us – happy to just be able to walk down the street with me. Or maybe that wasn't it – maybe she was just happy to be out in the open air period. She had ended up staying the night at the hospital with her mother, I guess it was a nice break from all of that, too. I pulled her hand up to my lips and kissed the back of it. There was a quick extra jerk in her smile, then she dropped my hand and I opened the door for her.

We walked into the store and killed a few hours in there, I ended up getting a couple books. While I was waiting at the desk for Aria, she came up with one that had caught her eye, and I made her let me get it for her. I told her if I wasn't allowed to be at the hospital with her, then I could buy her a book to keep her company. She just smiled, and we walked back to the parking lot, and I kissed her goodbye.

"I'll call you tonight, from the hospital," She told me as I opened the car door for her.

"I'll be waiting for it," I replied, shutting the door slowly as she climbed in.

I got into my car and watched her drive off before I even started the engine. I usually managed to spend my Saturdays with Aria, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. I resolved to stop off at the college and pick up a few papers that I still had to grade for Tuesday, even though ordinarily I would have just done them Monday when I got back. I pulled into my spot at the college and ran into the office building.

I walked into my office and grabbed the folder that was sitting on my desk. I through it into my bag, then sat down and organized things for Monday a little bit. I had just about run out of the office Thursday afternoon to be with Aria at my apartment. I turned and was going to head out when I saw Byron standing in my doorway. I took a deep breath. He didn't look angry with me – for the first time in a while. He just looked exhausted – much like Aria was starting to look.

"Sorry I didn't think you''d be in today," He said, "Heard noises."

"Just had a few things I forgot," I replied, "How's Ella today?"

"Nothing," He shrugged in reply, "The doctors keep saying they can't do anything more than wait for her to wake up. Then they can really assess the situation."

"They think she'll wake up?" I asked hopefully and he shrugged.

"Who knows," He replied, "I assume that's best case scenario."

"I'm so sorry."

"You didn't hit them."

"I know..." I trailed off, I just felt so terribly for him, "How's Aria?"

"She's doing the best she can," He replied, I had been expecting to be hit for asking, "She's running around trying to take care of everyone. Classic Aria."

"Yeah, I know," It more escaped my head than actually saying it.

"You really loved her, huh?"

"Love. I love her," I replied, "It doesn't matter what's going on...I still..."

"She's just a kid, Ezra," He told me, "I doubt she was any more serious about you than when she was obsessed with our neighbor when she was ten."

"You don't give her much credit," Again, falling out of my mouth before I thought about it.

"She's already dating someone else," He replied, "What does that tell you?"

He left before I could rebuttal, but really what could I have said? Nothing. I didn't like the very idea of Holden, but Aria swore he was like a brother, and I believed her but the idea of it just made me sick. I was terrified of this whole situation backfiring, and leaving me lonely. I knew I had to trust her, it was her only plausible way to come and be able to be with me. Her parents, and her friends would be suspicious if they saw her just leave now and then, especially now.

I did one more sweeping look around my office to check and make sure that I was not going to need anything else. I was about to head out the door – when I was interrupted again.

"Did I hear that right?" It was Jackie.

"I'd assume not," It was cold, but I could just not even stand the sight of her.

"Byron knew the whole time that you were with his daughter?"

"It's not any of your business."

"But you guys broke up."

"Even if we did, I don't know how that would effect you," I told her coolly, "I love Aria, even if that's a problem right now. Now, I'll say it again. Stay away from me, stay away from her, and would you mind being a little less like the Wicked Witch of the West – if that's at all possible. I'm not a pair of ruby slippers."

She gave me on more sneer, which I glared straight back at her for. If she honestly thought that anyone would ever choose her, in my position, she'd have to be nuts. Sure Aria and I were a little unconventional, but we had something worth fighting for, worth living every moment trying to figure it out. I loved her, and I swore if Jackie did anything, or went anywhere near Aria I would – well, I'm not sure what I'd do – but it wouldn't be pretty.

I was finally leaving, actually walking out the door when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Honey?"

"Mom?" I attempted to label the voice on the line, "What's up?"

"Well, I was seeing what you had planned for Sunday evening," She asked and I took a breath.

"I was going to grade some papers for Monday – but since my plans for tonight were disrupted, I'm free Sunday," I told her, not worrying about adding in hints of details because I knew she wouldn't ask.

"Well, I'm going to a show Sunday with the girls in Philadelphia," She told me, "I was wondering if you could meet me somewhere for dinner – I just haven't seen you in so long."

"That sounds like it should be fine," I replied hesitantly.

"And feel free to bring the girlfriend."

"Is that you subtly asking if there is one?" I asked, starting to walk now – back out to my car.

"There must be," She assumed, "You've been there how long now?"

"I don't think we're quite to meeting parents," I told her, trying to leave it at that.

"You're hiding her from me?" She teased, "Or is it the other way around?"

My mother was from very upper-class New York, the idea of her son being a teacher was like a novelty to her and her friends. It was like I was being noble or cute – naive -for choosing something I loved, instead of being like my brother who went to Harvard and onto Harvard Law school. He was the son she could brag about at tea, I was the one that was sort of the black sheep. The change to college professor seemed to put me into a higher regard with her though. However, if she knew I was involved with a minor – I wouldn't have to wait for Mr. Montgomery to come slap me. It would be her, driving here and doing it herself – then disowning me completely.

"Well the girls I like don't have the best track record with you – do they? I really like her-" I got into my car, an unknown number – the payphone at the hospital was trying to beep in, "I have to go, ok?"

"This subject is not dropped," She said, "Call me about dinner?"

"Yeah," I said, getting ready to hit the 'accept call' button on my phone, "Bye, Mom – love you."

"Love you."

"Hi," I flipped to Aria's call, "Sorry, I was on with my mom – she's coming to visit Sunday night."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Aria's sweet voice replied, though she sounded exhausted.

"Not really, if you knew my mother," I tried to get a laugh out of her – she chuckled – close enough, "You sound exhausted."

"I am," she yawned, "I'm about to head home for the night, as soon as dad gets here – he had to pick some stuff up at his office."

"Yeah, I saw him," I replied.

"You did?"

"We had a very civil interaction – of course he thinks you played me," I chuckled slightly, "You broke my heart, and just moved on to someone else."

"Well that might be better than him knowing the truth, at this point," she responded and I sighed.

"Except what happens later on?"

"We made up?" she suggested, "I don't know."

"Still no change with your mom?"

"None," She said shortly, "Sorry, that came out wrong. I'm just exhausted. Mike's in with her now. I just thought she'd wake up by now."

"I guess no change is good change?" I offered, "At least she's not getting worse."

"I guess."

"The doctor's still encouraging?"

"Yeah," She replied as I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment.

"Well, I'm assuming you have to take Mike home?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"If he's up to it, you said he was ok-ish with us," I started, "What if you brought him over and I ordered us all some take out?"

"We're both pretty exhausted," She said, "Not making an excuse or anything – but he's just about falling asleep, and while I would probably just fall asleep there..."

"I understand," I replied, putting my car in park and getting out.

"I love you, but I have to go," she told me and I smiled as I started up the stairs.

"I love you too," I hung up and slipped my phone into my pocket.

I went to open my door, but it was already opened, just a little bit – like the lock had been jimmied. I pushed it the rest of the way open to reveal – chaos. The whole apartment was ransacked, everything was thrown everywhere. It was like whoever broke in was looking for something, specific. But what could they be looking for? And did they find it? I pulled out my cell phone again and called the police, reported the break-in.

I started to tip-toe around all of my things on the floor – not wanting to disturb anything on my way to the note that was pinned onto the fridge. Despite wincing at the sight of my typewriter on the floor – I'm sure half the keys broken. I took another sweeping look and took a deep breath as I looked back down at the note. It read:

_She thought she could hide you from me, stupid girl. Trying to protect a grown man. Be warned. – A_

I folded up the note and stuffed it into my pocket, I didn't want the police asking questions. I had seen a note like this before – on Aria's cell phone, a little while ago. In form of text message, but still. I waited for the cops, answered all their questions, even if I kind of knew who had done it all. As soon as they were gone, I took a deep breath and headed out the door – she said that Byron was staying at the hospital tonight. Even if he wasn't, I had to see her. I had to know what was going on.

It was about time I learned who the hell this A person was. Had they been terrorizing Aria and her friends since the fall? How long had they already been messing around with her before the text I saw. It was all running through my mind like a carnival ride that whips you from one place to the next, so fast that your head is spinning and you can't figure out what's going on. It's everything just to try and figure out what's going on. Mostly though, I just needed to see Aria – make sure that she was ok.

That was the major concern here. The questions and hopefully the explanations will be nice, but the idea of this A threatening her, it wasn't ok. Jackie, was one thing. She was a bitch, and she really had no right – but at least she had a face. I could protect Aria from her, and I would. I didn't even know how to start to help her get through this, but I would start by asking for details – whatever she could tell me. She said before when I asked her she didn't know who it was, was she any closer to knowing who this person was? Did I want her to be? What would they do once they knew that she knew?


	4. Sigh

A/N: So, shall we continue? Sorry it took as long as it did… eh school :/… Read. Enjoy. Review. : )

Chapter Four: 

Aria.

It was late, even later than I had expected it to be by the time I got home. It was dark, and shadowy, and terrifying. I was just kind of glad I had Mike with me. We got out of the car and Mike's orange cast looked a little like a construction worker's safety vest. I was about to open my mouth to comment when I saw a shadow up on the porch. I exchanged looks. I swore Mike was way more perceptive than I gave him credit for sometimes as he walked over a little closer to me as we headed up to the porch.

"Hello?" Mike called out and the shadow turned and looked at us. "Who's there?"

"Relax, Mike," a familiar voice responded still walking closer, "It's just me – I wanted to bring you guys some food. Figured you guys might want a little company, food, and I wanted to check in on your mom."

As he kept walking closer and closer he came into a little bit more light. Just about as he was finishing that last bit about mom I could see that it was Jason. He was carrying take-out and walking towards us as friendly as he usually was. I took a big sigh of relief, and I was pretty sure the same came out of Mike.

"I can't take this crap," Mike breathed out and I chuckled as Jason raised an eyebrow at him, but I just chuckled.

"Thanks," I said as I started led both of them towards the door, and let Jason in with us.

"No problem," He replied, as he put the food down on the counter – Mike dug in, "What're friends for? I figured, I'm alone – and you guys might want some company."

"Thanks," I said as Mike headed upstairs and to his room – presumably, "Sorry, he's-"

"No problem," Jason nodded, "I know – do you want me to stay? Or would your guy have an issue with that?"

"You can stay – he's…" I trailed off with a plate of food and started heading into the living room.

He followed me in, and I tried to not acknowledge the looks he was giving me. He kept looking at me like he was trying to read what was going on – and I couldn't justify spilling my guts to him.

"You don't have to explain anything to me…"

"We're still together, Jason," I said, "It's slightly more complicated than that now – but we're trying to make it work."

"Gotcha," Jason replied, and I couldn't help but notice that he really did care.

"I-" I started off, then stopped when there was a knock on the door.

"Who'd be coming over now?" He checked his watch.

"Well, you did," I said, cautiously getting up to see who was at the door.

I was already sort of freaked out from before, but it wasn't like A was ever going to come knocking on my door anytime soon. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but it was oddly comforting. I could feel Jason's eyes on me, and I opened up the door to see Ezra standing out on the front porch.

"What're you doing here?" I immediately started to freak, what if someone saw him? "Get in, get in."

"I have to talk to you," He walked right in, I went to close the door behind him, "Someone broke into my apartment."

"What?" I turned around and saw him.

His face had fallen from the original anger and confusion to disappointment and upset. He was glancing over into the living room where Jason was sitting with two plates of barely touched food. Ezra then just looked at me, with his eyebrows popped up, like he was waiting for an explanation.

"Jason came over with food," I shrugged, "He was worried about Mike and I, and was here when we got back."

"Where's mike?"

"His room," I replied, "Someone broke into your apartment?"

"Yeah," Ezra was still glancing over to Jason, who got up and grabbed his plate.

"I'll get going," He said, going to put his plate in the sink and walking back out, "Have a good night – hope your mom gets better. And – Ezra?"

"Yeah?" Was Ezra's very short answer.

"You're a very lucky guy – she loves you, a lot," He told him, "I only came over here as a friend. Remember that? I'll see you around, Aria."

"Thank you," Ezra replied in a cold polite tone.

"You want some food?" I asked, once Jason was gone.

He shrugged, but I started to fix him one anyways.

"Aria, I'm not really all that hungry," He voiced, "Nothing like a break in and some guy that adores your girl hanging around with her after she told you that she was to tired to eat with you."

"He was at the house when Mike and I got home," I reminded him as I led him, carrying his plate of food to the couch, "He brought food, and wanted to come in. I told him we were still together, but he could stay and eat with me if he wanted."

"Ok," Ezra said as I set the plate down in front of him on the coffee table – I sat back down in front of mine, "I still don't like it."

"You're cute when you're jealous," I commented, "But, there really is no reason for you to be. So, why'd you come over?"

"Because, amongst the rubble of my apartment," He began, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a folded up piece of paper – handing it to me, "This was on my fridge door. I took it down before the cops got there – thought you'd want to see it, and I didn't want to risk—"

I finished unfolding it – and read it quickly, a few times. My heart dropped and I wanted to just break down and cry. This was exactly why I didn't want A to know we were back together. What if they had hurt Ezra? How would I have managed things? I would have perceivably had both mom and Ezra in the hospital – or worse. I felt a tear start to fall, then managed to collapse into Ezra's arms.

He leaned back and held me, wiping the tears from my eyes. He kissed my forehead and stroked back my hair. He started to rub his hands over my back soothingly, trying to calm me down. Then, he kissed the top of my head again.

"I love you, so much," He whispered, "I think it's time you told me what's going on here."

"I told, it's just someone messing with me," I said, the side of my face still pressing into his chest, "Which was why I was so keen to keep us from everyone this time around – but clearly that can't happened. I got a text from A last night, with something snide about you. They hurt Toby, and I was terrified that they were going to hurt you."

"They hurt Toby?" He asked, "The same A from the text message about knowing about us in the beginning?"

"They loosened the bolts – you know it doesn't matter," I said, "And yeah."

"I don't like that either," He exhaled, but gave me a quick squeeze, "Do you have any idea who it is?"

"They've been bugging all of us," I told him, then took a deep breath, "Hanna, Spencer, and Emily too. That's the first note to a boyfriend though. Which terrifies me – I don't want you hurt. I don't want to see you in the hospital, or worse."

"Or worse? What do you think they're going to do to me?" He asked, "Whoever they are?"

"They're the one that started threatening Caleb, that cut Toby's brakes, they loosened the scaffolding, they hit Hanna with a car," I said, "They took Ian's body after he was hung and made it look like a suicide, they left the suicide note littered with all the different texts that A'd texted to us. They trapped Emily in a garage with a running vehicle. There's a million other things I wouldn't even begin to be able to explain but – this is bad. And now that A's outwardly threatening you – You have to be so careful, Ezra. Promise me?"

"I will," He replied.

"You should probably just leave me," I continued, "Honestly. It'd be safer for you, all around – and—"

"Aria," He positioned our faces so that he could look into my eyes as he spoke, "I'm not going anywhere – I know now that what we have is worth what fight I have to get into. I don't like fighting, and you have no idea how much I wish this was just simple. But, it's not – it apparently would be way too easy for me to just be able to fall in love with this wonderful girl in my arms without a few obstacles."

"A few obstacles?"

"Well two – rather large ones."

"Four," I corrected him and he furrowed his brow, "For you Jason, for me Jackie. Then you being my teacher, then the age difference. And by your reaction tonight, you still don't believe me about Jason."

"Five then, A," He said, "And Jason? I believe you, but I just don't like that he hangs around."

"Well seeing as he hasn't threatened you – and won't," I started, "And I have no real romantic history with him at all…"

"I know, it's not the same thing," He admitted and I nodded.

"But the feelings are the same," I told him, "That was the first time I'd seen Jason in a long time. If he came as a friend, it was because he was ready to."

"Fair enough," was his only reply.

"What're you doing here?" Mike entered the living room.

He was in sweat pants and a t-shirt carrying an empty plate. He didn't look angry, just confused as he started walking closer to us. Ezra very slowly took his arms from around me and I sat up.

"Ezra's apartment got broken into," I folded the paper back up and put it in my pocket, "He knew we were on our own tonight, so he wanted to make sure we were ok. We were talking for a bit."

"Oh," He said, "Sorry to interrupt."

"You weren't interrupting anything," Ezra told him, "We were just talking about what we're going to do."

"Mind if I join in? I have to get rid of my plate, but…"

"Of course," I said, eager to get Mike and Ezra talking.

Mike disappeared into the kitchen, and I felt Ezra brush his lips across the top section of my head. I readjusted myself on the couch as I heard Mike put his plate into the dishwasher and walk back out into the living room. He sat in the chair opposite the coffee table to the couch.

"So what's the plan?" Mike asked and we both shrugged.

"Right now? It's lay low as long as we can," I said, "It's not really the best approach, and it sucks, but it's really the only way we can see being able to be together."

"To mom it was the lying that hurt the most," Mike offered up, "It might be better almost to show that you're going to fight for it."

"Not when dad is threatening to report him," I said, "They're not giving us much of a choice. We're in love, we're not going to give up on each other – and I'm not going to let him get into any – legal – trouble."

"Well feel free – anything you guys need."

"No offense, but Mike," Ezra looked a little confused, "Why the sudden change?"

"I've apologized to Aria about a thousand times, but I guess that's nothing if she didn't relay it to you," He began, "I'm sorry I hit you, I was just terrified that dad would. Not that that fixes things, but I really am sorry. Secondly, the fact that you're still around after all of that, after all that's been going on – it means you really do care about Aria. Even as her brother I can appreciate that. Also, the way she – attempts – to protect you from things it just made me think. There must be something there I didn't see. Then when you saved mom and I – and you were kind to me, even though I hit you, and Mom even though she'd been keeping Aria from you. It made me realize just how genuinely you care. That you're a decent person, you not only pulled us out – which anyone would have done – you sat with me in the hospital, you were doing cpr on mom and trying to calm me down. It was like you loved us too."

"Mike, I don't want you – or any of you to feel like you owe me."

"You were doing CPR on mom?"

"He resuscitated her before the ambulances got there," Mike informed me, "Little things have come back to me. Then she was yelling at you about Aria, vaguely. She never said her name, and you just kept trying to check her pulse and keep her safe. And keep me from seeing what a bloody mess she was. Thanks."

"No one needs to see that." Ezra said.

"You're a good guy," Mike judged, "It was just when I first heard you were with Aria, I thought you were just screwing around with her."

"I understand that," Ezra replied, "That's what your dad thought, but now he seems to think Aria was playing with me."

"What?" I was completely shocked.

"I ran into him at Hollis today, I went to pick up a few papers to grade," He replied, "He thought someone was breaking into my office, I asked him how your mom was. Then I asked how you were doing, and we had a very civil chat. He decided he was going to try and console me and try to convince me that you were over me at the same time."

"I think he's trying to convince himself of that," I agreed and Mike nodded.

"Well, I'll leave you two to your food and everything," Mike said as he got up, "I'm going to go to bed."

"Night, Mike," I called after him.

"Rest up," Ezra called out.

I smiled as Mike disappeared up the stairs and Ezra pulled me right back into his arms. We lounged there together for a few minutes before we just gave in and repositioned ourselves. He laid down on his back, and I cuddled my face up on his shoulder, allowing my legs to just entangle with his down on the other side of the couch.

"I love you so much," I laid an arm across his chest and pulled him tighter – kissing his cheek as it invariably got closer to my mouth.

"Now you'll tell me what's going on with A, right?" He asked, "I'm in the club? No more weird irrational behavior?"

"Correct," I said, "Anyways, back to A. We have a feeling that she/he/it killed Alison. Did I mention that we got the first texts when I got back from Iceland?"

"No," He replied.

"Well whoever it is watches us – intently," I told him, "The first day of class, that awkward moment when you realize the guy you just met that was cute and adorable and exactly what you've always wanted was, is in fact your English teacher? That was my first text. It said something about not sweating it, and that you probably fool around with all of your students."

"Not true."

"Well yes I got that once I talked to you."

I closed my eyes, just letting myself relax in his arms, as he gently stroked down the side of my arm.

"I should go, we can talk more tomorrow," He whispered.

"No," I grumbled, "I want you here, I want you to stay with me."

"It's too risky for me to stay here all night," He whispered, kissing the edge of my ear, "Why don't I just stay until you fall asleep?"

"Ok," I mumbled as we went up on our sides, so that when he got up he wasn't going to wake me up by default.

It didn't take long for me to completely pass out with my face pressed so perfectly against Ezra. This, I think was something he was counting on. I was out like a light within fifteen minutes, and didn't even wake up when he left. I woke up and he had cleared our plates, then apparently run the dishwasher and cleaned up a little bit before he went. I got up and threw my hair up into a ponytail – about to go wake up Mike to see if he wanted to do anything today. Maybe we could go do something fun, or at least not spend the whole day in the hospital again, end there later that evening. It was taking too much out of Mike having to be there all the time – it was taking too much out of me.

That was when there was a knocking on the door, and I went to get it.

"Hello?"

Hanna, Emily, and Spencer all barged in through the door as soon as it was open even that little crack.

"Aria, we have a situation," Spencer said, she was the one carrying the laptop, she set it down on the counter.

"We were talking about A being the one that hit your mom," Hanna said and I nodded.

"And they were just outside the school, right?" Emily continued, and I nodded again.

"Well, we sorta had Caleb…"

"We got the security tape," Hanna rolled her eyes at the other two, clearly she had had to be convinced to let Caleb help.

"Ok, did you see anything?" I asked and they shook their heads.

"Not yet," Spencer replied, "Caleb's working on it – when you zoon in that far it gets all fuzzy and it's probably just Garrett or Noel anyways…"

"Ok," I said as Mike hit the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, it's just you guys," He looked at us all huddled around the counter, "I thought Fitz was still here."

"What?" Hanna's eyes went wide.

"He was here?" Spencer looked surprised.

"I thought he ditched you," Emily said, not attempting to sound mean – but, "Sorry, that didn't come out right…"

"No, it's ok," I told them, "I told you guys he ditched hoping it could stay a secret. But, seeing as you all know now, he met me under the clock tower that night. I was soaked and Holden was almost late meeting up with me to get a ride back with mom. I wanted to try and hide it for a while – and Holden was helping, but…"

"You and Fitz are as obvious as a purple leaf on a tree," He replied, "I'm gonna head outside for a little while – get me before you head over to the hospital?"

"Of course – I thought maybe we could do something fun later," I told him, "Go to an arcade or something…"

"Chuck E. Chees isn't going to fix mom no matter how many tickets we get," Mike grumbled as he walked out the door.

"Mike's doing well then?" Spencer asked and I rolled my eyes.

"I have to take him to his therapist tomorrow," I replied.

"Um, back to Ezra being here?" Hanna asked.

"His apartment got broken into last night," I said, taking the piece of paper out of my pocket and handing it to Hanna, who was standing in the middle of the group.

I watched them as they each read it, Spencer and Emily over Hanna's shoulder. Then I watched them as they read it again, and again. Hanna handed it back, and they all looked shocked.

"Yeah, he knows – everything now," I said, "I explained it all to him, and he wants to help – however he can. I told him to just be careful."

"A hasn't threatened any of our boyfriends directly like that before," Spencer said.

"Well it's more a note for me than for him," I pointed out and they all nodded – my phone rang, "Hello?"

"Aria, the doctors want to take your mother off the respirator," It was dad, "Can you and your brother get down here?"

"What? Is that a good choice?"

"They say her lungs are unaffected and she should be able to breathe on her own now," He replied, "But just in case something goes wrong - I want you and your brother here."

"Yeah, I'll grab Mike and we'll be right there," I hung up and looked to my friends.

"They're taking mom off the respirator."

They nodded.

"They probably don't want her to get too dependent on it," Spencer supplied and I nodded.

"We should go," said Emily, closing the laptop as they paraded out the door.

"Call us and tell us how it goes?" Hanna asked and I nodded.

"Yeah," I said it like it were an obvious statement as I followed them to the door, "Mike! Come get ready to go!"

A half an hour later we were walking into the hospital, I had done my best to explain what dad had said on the way in but Mike still looked visibly shaken. I'm sure I did too, I was worried – that sinking feeling in my stomach was controlling my every thought. I was shaking, literally, but I hoped too mildly for anyone to really notice. Mike apparently did, because he put his arm around me – slightly awkwardly – but I appreciated him trying to reassure or comfort me. Whatever he was trying to do.

"Sorry I'm no Fitz," He teased under his breath, and I chuckled as I hugged him just outside mom's door.

"Kids," Dad came out of the room, "C'mon in, the sooner they do it the less apt she'll be to be too dependent on it."

"A few extra minutes isn't going to do anything, Dad," I pointed out as we followed him in.

The doctors were all standing around her bed, and I shifted awkwardly as dad went and held mom's hand. Mike held the other and I walked over to the bed. It didn't feel real, at all, that it was my mom lying in the bed. It felt like a clip I had been thrown in from a movie, or someone else's life – this couldn't be mine. I walked up next to Mike and he offered me her hand, opting for her arm.

"Remember," Wren said as the older doctor headed over to the machine behind mom, and he reached around Mike, "She should be fine, the only thing we're worried about is her body having gotten too used to the respirator, which is why we're taking it out."

I nodded.

"Thanks, Wren," I said and he nodded as the doctor switched off the machine – and he pulled the tube out form her mouth.

There was a little blip on the monitor, but then it turned back to a normal looking pattern. I felt everyone in the room take a collective sigh of relief. The main doctor said something about checking in on her later, and Wren excused himself as we started to relax, and each took a seat. My phone went off in my pocket.

_Lucky for mommy, huh? You going to try and hide this too? You should keep a better eye on that guy of yours. -A_


	5. Chatter

A/N: Ok, so this chapter should be a little more action based than the last couple... Read. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Five:

Aria.

I was lying half naked in Ezra's bed, the sheets all tangled up around me – my head barely on the pillow. I smiled to myself, in the only heaven I could imagine – what could be better? I was staring up at the ceiling, then over to the foot of the bed where Ezra was standing in his boxers. I reached for him – and he was in my arms, pressing his forehead to mine, kissing me passionately.

I could feel his lips moving against mine. The feeling of his tongue playing with my lower lip, it sent shivers – goose bumps all over my body. His hand was rubbing – hard – against my hip in tight circular motion as I had to break from his mouth for air. His attention was immediately directed down to the side of my neck, I moaned at the feeling of him leaving a trail of kisses down the side of my neck.

"Ezra," I mumbled and he stopped, looking into my eyes sweetly.

"Mmmhmm?" He flashed me his gorgeous smile and his eyes sparkled.

I was smiling back at him when a shadow darted across the ceiling. Hunched over and hooded. I blinked, hoping it wasn't exactly what I thought it was but Ezra gave me a curious look – he seemed to have notice the complete change in my demeanor.

"Is everything ok, Aria?" He asked, kissing my forehead softly, then looking back into my eyes.

"Of course," I replied leaning up and kissing him again.

I pulled away from the quick peck to see his eyes wide open in shock, and blood starting to trickle out of his mouth. I blinked, and saw blood streaming down his body from a gaping wound in his chest. I was screaming as I tried to put my hands over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as he started to collapse onto me. I laid there with him on top of me, bleeding out as I screamed.

"Aria! Aria!" I was shaken awake by Mike, "C'mon we're going to be late for school – you slept through your alarm."

"What?" I asked as I looked, disorientated, around my room – the sun was shining in through the window.

He left the room as I realized that it had been a dream. I shivered, it had seemed so real. I shook it out of my head and headed for the shower, vague memories of Ezra bleeding out on top of me still reeling in my head. They seemed to fade more and more as I got ready for school until only the basic thought of the dream remained. Ezra died. I finished putting peanut butter on my toast as Mike appeared in the kitchen.

"You can drive me to the therapist after school, right?" He checked and I nodded as I grabbed my school bag.

"Just meet me at the car, ok?"

"Yep," He said as we climbed into the car, I took out my phone to text Ezra, "Please don't text and drive – that's the last thing we need right now."

"Fine I'll just send one quick before we go," I said, quickly sending Ezra a 'good-morning' text – just to know that he'd reply safely.

"What the hell were you dreaming about?" Mike asked as we hit the road.

"Ah, it was more of a nightmare," I told him and he nodded.

"I figured, when you were screaming," He said seriously.

"Someone was hurt."

"Someone? Fitz?"

"Yes," I said, "Have you talked to dad this morning?"

"He called from the hospital to make sure we were up for school," Mike replied.

"How's mom?"

"The doctors are starting to worry – she should be awake by now."

I nodded, and left it at that. I wanted to scream. Why wasn't she fighting? The doctors kept saying that her faculties were all starting to heal, that she should be starting to come back to consciousness. Maybe she saw who hit them? They kept saying she had no further reason to be in that state. I kept thinking the worst, that maybe she'd always be this way, or even worse – she would start to decline.

I pulled into the school parking lot and my phone went off, I smiled to see a cheerful text from Ezra as I put the car in park.

"Meet here just after school," Mike reminded me and I nodded.

"Hey, Aria," Mona said as I climbed out of the car, "So sorry to hear about your mom."

"Ah, yeah," I said, "Thanks, Mona."

Thankfully, I was soon surrounded by Hanna, Emily, and Spencer – swooping in to the rescue. They escorted me to my first class, allowing me to not speak – allowing me a few minutes of silence. I had been looking forward to school as an escape, somewhere I could almost forget what was going on with mom – I hadn't exactly taken into account the gossip rate of such a small town.

I made it through lunch, then opted to eat with Mike, who had also isolated himself from everyone else. I sat down without a word, and he just continued to eat. I smiled, happy to have a few moments peace, even if we had to ignore all the whispering that was going on all around us. I was about to say something to him when Emily and Spencer came and sat on either side of me. Hanna was sitting over with Mona for the day.

"How you guys holding up?" Emily asked casually and Mike shrugged.

"I think we're doing ok," I replied, it was only natural for them to be curious, "Got a call from dad this morning, no change."

"I'm gonna go get another burger," Mike excused himself and walked away.

"Guys?" I said, "I had a really awful dream last night."

"What about?" Emily asked, opening her drink.

I took a minute to – in hushed tones – explain my dream to them. When I had finished they offered up several theories that didn't really make any sense, it was just a little too terror-filled for me. I just wanted to forget about the dream, and not have to deal with the idea of A hurting Ezra. Ezra getting hurt at all was something that I wanted out of my brain as soon as possible.

"How's the video coming along?" I asked, more concerned with finding out who had hurt mom than anything else.

"Caleb was trying – but it got too pixelated too close up," Spencer said.

"License plate?"

"Stolen car," Emily told me and I rolled my eyes as Mike got back with his cheese-burger.

"So, Wren showed up at my house last night," Spencer felt the need to bring up.

"Really?"

"He said he wanted to be there for me," She continued, "Something about not minding mending a broken heart? I can only remember bits because I was exhausted – but it was strange."

"He was trying to talk to me about you yesterday at the hospital," I said, "He really seems to care, and worries about you."

"We should get going," Spencer said abruptly, clearing up her tray as she and Emily got up, "We have a test next period."

"Ok, see ya," I said as they disappeared and headed in the general direction of the library.

"My appointment's two hours this afternoon," Mike stated, "And I'm assuming you can find entertainment until then? Maybe see your – guy."

"Be careful around everyone," I said and he nodded.

"I didn't use his name."

"Yes," I sighed, taking out my phone and texting him to see what he was doing later, "I'll see if I can see him, but if not that's fine too."

"You're still worried about him from your dream?"

"A little bit," I said and he smiled.

"That's cute," He said, "Like that night when we were little – you had a dream I got trampled or something and you came and woke me up in the middle of the night."

"That still happens," I told him, "I mean, I don't wake anyone up – but I check on them."

"Well that's highly appreciated," He chuckled, "Dad's been wondering where Holden's been."

"I guess I'll have to talk to him later about it," I took a deep breath.

"What're you going to say?"

"That I'm not ready for anything yet? And Holden was," I ran it by him.

"You're going to give him a hint that you're still with him?"

"I love him," I replied, "Dad's eventually going to have to deal."

"I guess," Mike looked down at his burger.

"What is it?"

"Dad's been trying to get the college to think about sending him to a new college that's starting up," Mike said, "He'd be offered a senior position – and it would be hard for him to turn it down. The college doesn't even want to give it to him – it's just dad. He wants to get him away…"

"Well that's not going to work," I said and Mike nodded.

"Well yeah, the university isn't going to offer it to him – dad just wanted them to," Mike replied, "He was pretty pissed when it fell through – but of course by then he thought you were in love with Holden."

"How much wishful thinking did they have to do?" It made my blood boil, "I was never all that enthusiastic about Holden, was I?"

"Well no, but when you got home from seeing – Fitz – and they thought you had been out with Holden…"

"Right," I said and he kind of gave me a half smile, "So, how're you doing? Anything you need to talk about?"

"Mom and Dad pay people to talk to me about my problems," He half joked with a sort of smirk on his face.

"Well you know you can talk to me too," I told him as we got up to head to our next class.

"Thanks," He breathed as we headed for our respectful classes.

Dad had tried to send Ezra away? What was this, medieval times? Daughter chooses man deemed unsuitable so father decides to send him to a far and distant land? Really? Was he going to have him try and fight some sort of dragon too? Or maybe he was arranging to have me locked in a tower as well, to complete the picture. I had always thought of my romance with Ezra as a little fairytale-esque, but I hadn't thought about the other side too much. The poison apples, the towers I was to be locked away in, what happened to the man the father disapproved of. But that's what got me. Dad loved Ezra, and so had mom – if we had waited, if we had told them when I was like twenty and left all the parts about while he was my teacher out? They would have been the first to congratulate us – take Ezra into the family – he would have been a part of the family. It's just had we waited that long, we would have self destructed.

I checked my phone to see if Ezra had responded, he had:

_Two-ish hours with you? Of course, I'll be at my apartment…. Boy do I have a couple stories for you…._

We had already started, and the fact that this whole issue was such an issue had set us back quite a few steps. We were back to hiding away, cryptic messages, weird phone calls, and counting to fifty. Counting to fifty had actually turned into counting to seventy or a hundred, but that wasn't the point. I was worried about my relationship with Ezra. And, honestly – him knowing about A and all of that could only help the situation. It was bringing us closer and explaining some of my more erratic behavior.

"You ok?" Mike asked as he arrived at the car after school.

"Still fuming over dad trying to send Ezra away like a bad – I don't even know what," I said, "But I guess that's to be expected – that's what he does with everything. He never deals with anything, he just shoves it under a rug or finds a way to make it disappear."

I didn't know how much Mike knew about Dad's affairs, but I didn't want to give him anymore than he knew. If he knew, then what I said made sense – if he didn't – it still kind of made sense. I got into the driver's seat and started up the car as Mike got into the car. I drove him across town to where his appointment was, then a little further to Ezra's apartment. I wondered slightly if dad realized when he left it up to me to drive Mike there how close it was to Ezra's place.

I parked up the street at a coffee shop, then walked down the street to the apartment building. I rotated parking spaces, knowing it wouldn't look good in such a small town to see my car outside, no matter how well hidden into the back of the lot of Ezra's apartment building all the time. It just wasn't a smart idea, so I rotated. The back of the lot almost into the woods, the coffee shop, the shopping plaza in the other direction, occasionally used to have someone drop me off, or Ezra pick me up from some other rather remote place.

I got up to his apartment door and grabbed the key from under the mat. I walked in and found a completely cleaned up version of the apartment that he had described after the break-in. I had decided not to tell him about dad's plot to get him to leave – it wasn't worth it and if eventually dad came around I didn't want any hard feelings – on either side. I just wanted everything to be ok. I wanted mom to wake up and be fine, I wanted dad to relax about Ezra, and I wanted Ezra and I to finally just be able to be. But, I also wanted A caught – and I figured they all had about the same chance of happening.

"Hey," Ezra said in a sweet, semi-seductive tone as I walked in – closing the door behind me, "How was your day?"

He was on the couch, his hair slightly frazzled and his shirt now wrinkled from his day. He looked exhausted.

"I woke up this morning from a dream about A killing you," I told him – sure I looked as much of a mess as I felt.

"What?" He asked, hopping up from the couch where he had been sitting to come and wrap me up in his arms.

"Yeah, that was fun," I replied sarcastically, "At least Mike woke me up before you completely bled out."

"Yeah, remind me to thank him later," Ezra smirked as he leaned in and kissed me sweetly, "Guess what?"

"Mmm?"

"I didn't die – last night."

"See, and that's excellent news," I replied, smirking as he led me back to the couch to sit down – and cuddle up.

"So, last night – dinner with my mom," Ezra started as his fingers played with my hair, almost of their own accord, "She would not shut up, kept asking for details. She's come to the conclusion that I must be dating someone, so is not hellbent on finding out who – don't worry I didn't offer anything up. It was just kind of funny – I don't think she's ever cared so much about anything in my life."

I chuckled, and he smiled.

"Then, I ran into your father today," Ezra said, "He came by to ask for leave – which they obviously gave to him. He figures either way he'll be out about a month. And, he came to see me."

"He did?"

"He wanted to give me an update," He replied, "On your mom, and on you. He thinks Holden's being an immature jackass and avoiding the hospital."

"Naw," I said, "I was meaning to talk to him about that – maybe later tonight."

After we had been lying on the couch a little while, I felt myself drifting off a bit in his arms. I knew exactly why – I was exhausted, as per usual, I just knew that if I fell asleep I'd be late picking Mike up from the therapist, something I was determined not to let happen. I liked getting closer with Mike, having a little bonding time with him that last couple days – the circumstances were awful, but it was still nice. We were finally clicking, and I didn't want to screw it up so much of everything with Mike was dependency. Were you reliable? Could he depend on you? Or were you not worth his time?

"I should go," I said, about an hour and a half later, "I want to be waiting for Mike when he's done."

"It seems like you and Mike are getting closer," Ezra said as I got up and grabbed my jacket.

"I like it, it's like when we were little," I said, "He's returning from where the hell have you been? Back to a friend."

"That's great, Aria," Ezra said as he started walking me to the door, "Oh, one more thing…"

"Wha-"

I was interrupted mid word by Ezra's passionate lips latching themselves to mine. My hand instantly flew up to the back of his hair as he slowly and gently pushed me up against the door. He took my breath away, literally, and he seemed to sense it as he pulled away and set his forehead against mine instead.

"I love you," He breathed, as if it was his last breath, "Nothing will ever make me do anything against us again. I'm not going anywhere and I'm not hiding from you ever again like I have in the past. You mean too much to me, Aria. And for every time you've told me to be careful – I have. I just kind of want to make sure you're doing the same. You said the other night that you didn't know what would happen if something happened to me – but I know exactly what I would do if something happened to you, and it wouldn't be pretty."

"Awe, Babe," I put a hand daintily up on the side of his face, "I promise."

"Thank you," He replied and I nodded, kissing him quickly.

"Now, I have to go get Mike."

"By all means," he released me, and opened the door for me to go.

I got a call from dad while I was en route to pick up Mike. He was stuck at Hollis trying to arrange his leave, and was worried that mom was going to have been alone too long. I refrained from pointing out that she probably wouldn't be noticing, given her current state and instead told him I'd be picking Mike up and heading straight over to the hospital. Which is what we did, minus a few 'loving' comments about Ezra and I from Mike – we pulled into a somewhat quiet hospital. At least for Rosewood it was quiet – it was a nice change of pace.

We got out of the car and saw Jason leaving his car parked directly behind us.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, he was carrying some sort of yellow plant in hand.

"Hey," He said awkwardly, "Just wanted to visit your mom – I figured someone would be here. Just wanted to drop off a plant for her hospital room…"

"Oh, we're just headed in," I said, "That's really sweet of you – c'mon you can see her with us?"

"Yeah," Jason said, running a hand back through his hair, "Thanks."

"No, thanks for being so thoughtful," I told him as we made our way through the halls of the hospital towards my mom's room.

"How's she look?" Jason asked, he sounded a little worried.

"She's not scary," Mike told him, "She's got a few nicks and cuts, a few bruises – but she looks a lot better than she did. She's not on the respirator anymore."

"Do the doctors sound hopeful?"

"Eh," I said, as we turned the corner onto mom's hall – Wren was at the nurses' station, we exchanged small smiles, "Depends on the day – they all seem to agree that she should be waking up – soon. It's kind of a mystery to them why she isn't up now, which is the scary part."

"Understandable," Jason nodded as we started to get closer and closer to her room.

Then, something happened that made all three of us stop. Noel Kahn was walking out of our mother's room – slipping something back into his pocket – I assumed it was his cell phone.

"Oh, hey guys," He siad, "I just wanted to come by and see your mom. I thought you guys would be here though…"

"Why don't you get lost?" Jason sensed my apprehension.

"Relax, dude," Noel sized Jason up a little bit, "You know Aria's taken, right? No need to try and show off."

With that, he brushed by on Jason's left and headed out towards the exit behind us.


	6. Pain

A/N: Hey guys, so here the story's going to start picking up…. Read and Enjoy :)

Chapter Six:

Ezra.

"Now, a lot of you have expressed your opinions on Sydney as basically calling him out on being an idiot," I addressed my lecture class on British Literature and they all kind of chuckled.

"It's just a little old school – cliché, even," Eric, a sophomore in the front row, "Who would sit there and watch as the woman they believed to be the love of their life marry and have a life with some asshole?"

"Ok, but is it about the asshole? Is it about the pain you yourself have to suffer to be with her?" I asked as Byron Montgomery slipped into the back of the hall and I swallowed nervously, "Eric – if you had found the one woman that was the love of your life – what would you do to stay by her side? What would you give up? Would you deal with being second – if you had to? Being a friend? How long and how hard would you fight for her? What would you do to ensure her happiness? Even if what makes her happy isn't what she wants. Would you do anything for her?"

"Honestly?" He asked, "No. I don't think I could."

"That's – depressing," My comment caused a ripple of laughter through the hall.

"Would you?"

"I don't think that's relevant," I said, "I'm asking you."

"And I answered," Eric pointed out above everyone else's protests.

"C'mon show us up, Professor," Darrick said from somewhere in the back section, "What would you do for your girl?"

"Fine," I said, feeling Byron's eyes on me more than the entire class, "I would. I would do anything I'd fight, and I wouldn't give up. I couldn't. As for what I would sacrifice? Everything – anything I could."

"And what if she didn't want you?"

"You would sit in the front row at her wedding to some douchebag that didn't treat her half as well as you did?"

"Who didn't care all that much about her?"

"Whoa," The questions were flying in, "If she wanted me there, yes. It'd be the worst thing – debatably – I'll ever have to do, but yeah."

"But would you then die for him?"

I took a second.

"If I had to?" I replied, "Think about it. Would you be able to deal with the guilt from not saving him? Could you deal with comforting her, knowing that you could have saved her from the pain? Saved him? Could you really allow someone to die? If he treats her like shit I'm going to be pissed, but if she's…"

I saw everyone starting to pack up and looked over at the clock. Really? The one time I want class to be longer.

"…And on that note, I'll see you guys Friday."

The whole hall cleared out in a matter of minutes all my students had filed out of the hall. Then, I looked up as Byron was heading down the side aisle towards me. I got my things together and slung my bag over my shoulder as he reached the center of the floor, and kept coming closer to me.

"I—" I started, but stopped not knowing what to say.

"Relax," He said, taking a deep breath, "I need to talk to you."

"About?" I asked as I allowed him to lead me into his office.

"I'm sorry," He said, "I'm sorry about the way we've treated you. You very clearly love my daughter very much – and Holden…"

"Holden? What'd he do?" I asked, even the thought of someone even possibly mistreating Aria made my blood boil – even if I knew for a fact it was not the case.

"Nothing, that's the point," He said, "He hasn't been to the hospital since the first night. He's bailed on her, when she needs someone there for her the most."

"I'm extremely sorry to hear that," I swallowed, "She deserves much better than that."

"I'm aware," Byron replied, suddenly emotional.

"Is everything ok? I mean, besides the obvious?" I asked as he sunk into his chair.

"Ella – Ella isn't going to make it," He said, "And now I have to go to the hospital. To tell Aria and Mike that their mother is dying, and that it's only a matter of time before she's gone."

I couldn't even comprehend what was going on. My first thought was Aria, being there for her and how much this was going to shake her, change her. Was this going to be the end of us? Would she just shut down? And shut me out, like she was so good at. Like Ella had once told me, when she's hurt, you could get frostbite. I swallowed, my heart breaking for her, for Byron, and for Mike as I prayed Aria would let me be there for her. I prayed that Aria wouldn't box me out, and wouldn't hate me when she burned the world in that head of hers. This when I wasn't even sure who exactly I was praying to, but getting out of this with her – was going to take a miracle.

"So, and I know this is incredibly unfair of me," Byron said, "But would you mind coming with me to the hospital? And maybe if Aria is going to let you help her – then we can discuss letting you stick around. Just God knows she won't let me be there for her – she'll be so much more concerned with helping Mike and I…but she loves you – as much as I tried to convince you and myself otherwise…"

"Absolutely," I said, "I'll come with you. I can't promise anything, I can try to be there for her and fight to be – but when she's hurting she hides."

"Well if you think you can help at all…"

"Of course," I said as he took a deep breath and got up, "I'm just curious, how long have you known?"

"Yesterday evening," He replied as we went out to the parking lot, "They came while I was sitting with her. Said something about toxins building up in her body – unexplained, and they can't figure out where it's coming from. They said it might even be something that's building up for her whole life and might've happened anyways. The trauma seems to have brought it up. There's nothing they can do."

"I'm so sorry," I said as we got to our cars, which were only a few spaces apart.

I followed Byron's car to the hospital, my heart pounding in my chest as we drove. I had just finished saying that I would do anything to make her happy, to shield her from things that would hurt her. That was all I ever wanted to do, but I couldn't protect her from this, and I couldn't protect her from the faceless A. I was feeling a bit like a failure, because for someone so dedicated to her and with the clearest of intentions to be there and protect her – there were some things that I just couldn't stop. That killed me, it was like a dagger ripping and tearing at my insides. I thought maybe for a second that actual blood was starting to pool in my esophagus.

I pulled into the hospital and parked right next to Byron. I hopped right out of the car, and then walked over seeing that Byron didn't seem to want to get out. This was completely understandable, so I leaned against the side of my car, scanning the parking lot until I saw Aria's car parked a little ways away from where we were. So the possibility that she wouldn't be here was gone, and I took a deep breath as he finally got out of the car. As soon as Aria saw me walking in with her father she would know something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him as we started towards the front door.

"Thank-you," He said, "Mike's going to be…."

"I'm here for him too," I offered, then lent him a weak smile as I held the door for him, "As long as he doesn't hit me again – actually if it helps…"

"You're a good man, Ezra," Byron said and I just sort of blinked.

"It's really nothing," I said, as I followed him to the ICU room where Ella was.

Looking through the window I saw Aria sitting at her mother's side, holding her hand. Mike was beside her, and in the corner of the room Jason was sitting with his arms folded across his chest. I didn't have the to be angry at the sight of him, there was no time for that now. All I could see was the worry on Aria's face as she looked down into the soon to be lifeless face of her mother. I took a deep breath as Byron reached for the door handle and I followed him into the room. There was a large pot of yellow daisies sitting on the window sill. Jason looked like he was going to be sick – for once I could honestly be on the same page as him.

"Dad? Ezra?" Aria looked confused by my presence, and the fact that I was arriving with Byron.

I gave her a weak smile and a loving look, then looked over at Jason. I tried to quickly communicate with him what was about to go down, and he seemed to understand that he should head out. He gave Aria and Mike a little nod.

"I just wanted to bring the flowers," He said, "I should get going…"

"Dad…" Aria said, starting to catch on to why I might be there as Mike sank into his seat.

"Why don't you do a lap or two," Byron told Jason, "If you don't mind – I know you've been working with Mike at school…"

"I'll stick around," He said, trying to exchange a couple looks with Mike – then giving Aria a weak smile as he headed out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

"No," Aria said defiantly, Mike was already crying.

"I'm sorry, Aria," Byron said as Aria flocked to my arms, where I held her tight.

I set my forehead onto the top of her head, kissing it briefly before just allowing her to fall apart in my arms. I shifted over to sit down in a chair, and allowed her to just collapse into my lap. Byron went and tried to sit by Mike, in the seat Aria had just vacated. I could feel Aria's tears starting to seep through my shirt. I didn't mind at all, as I tried to lean back enough to kiss her forehead. After I did, she stopped crying and simply buried her head into my chest.

"The doctors can't do anything more," Byron found his voice after a few minutes, after both of his children had calmed down a little bit from the initial shock, "The toxins in her body are just building up, and her kidney function has already started to deplete."

"maow leng?" Aria mumbled

"Sorry?" I spoke up for everyone, I knew they couldn't understand either.

"How long?" She repeated, trying to wipe the tears from her face, I took over.

"They don't know exactly," Byron's voice was like a ghost's, "It'll be a two – three days."

"I'm going to find Jason," Mike got up and left, Byron took a deep breath and followed him.

"How long have you known?" Aria asked, looking up at me from my arms.

"About twenty minutes," I told her, "Your dad came into my last lecture, and talked to me afterwards. Apologized for everything, thanked me for loving you, and asked me to come along and be with you."

She sighed deeply and collapsed again, the side of her face right up against my heart. I started running the palm of my hand against the side of her hair, careful as she stared off into space, but in the general direction of her mother. I looked over too, and saw her, so helpless and I just hoped she wasn't in any pain. I wondered if she was already gone or if she could hear us. I wondered if we were already just looking at the shell of the person that was, or had been Aria's mother. A friend.

"I have to get out of here," Aria said, getting up out of my lap, and I shot to my feet, "I have to do something."

"Ok, can I come with you?"

"If you want," I could tell it was mostly just so it wouldn't hurt me that she didn't want me around.

"I just don't want you driving," I said, as I took her hand – and she let me, "I can drive you somewhere – we can talk, or sit in silence. Whatever you want."

"Ok," She said, "Let's go."

I handed her the keys.

"I'm going to go tell…" I trailed off, she probably wanted a minute with Ella, "I'll meet you at the car. Take your time."

"Ok," She said, and I kissed her head as I headed off towards the waiting room.

Eventually I found them in the cafeteria, Byron, Mike, and Jason huddled together at a small table. I took a deep breath and walked over to them. Jason had a comforting paw-hand on Mike's pack and his face was to the table.

"What is it, Ezra?" Byron asked.

"Aria wants to get out of the hospital," I shrugged, "Clear her head, get a breath of fresh air. I was just going to take her like to the park or a coffee shop or something – I don't think it'd be all that great to let her drive, and I definitely don't want her alone."

"Ok," Byron said and I gave Jason a little nod before heading down the hall.

I was almost to the entrance by the time Jason caught up with me, tapping me on the shoulder. He looked nearly as destroyed as Mike, Byron, and Aria.

"You ok?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you how Aria's doing?"

"About as expected," I replied, "I know your friends… I'm sure if you try calling her later. She might not feel like talking but, she might later. Actually, I'll tell her you were worried – and she should give you a call? That way if she doesn't feel like talking…"

"Yeah, that's fine," Jason seemed troubled, "I just wanted to check on her. She doesn't have to call me."

"Ok, well – as expected," I said, "You sure you're ok?"

"Eh, I'll be ok," He replied and I nodded.

"Ok," I said, as I headed out the door to the parking lot.

I came up to the car, and evidently Aria had found it. She was sitting in the front seat on the phone with someone, I assumed one of her friends, either Hanna or Emily. She unlocked the door as I walked over to the driver's seat and hopped in.

"Ok, Em," She said as I buckled up, "Yeah, I just wanted you guys to know. I don't know when I'll be up to talking, but – no I'm not alone. Ezra's here with me. Ok, love you too, Em."

She hung up and I started up the car, leaning over and kissing her softly.

"Any preferences?" I asked.

"No." The answer I expected.

I had something planned, something I thought might cheer her up. I drove across town to the bar where we first met. I thought it might take her mind off things a little bit. She smiled weakly as me as I parked outside.

"Cheeseburger?" I asked and he just gave me a relieved look, "I'm a strong believer in eating one's feelings."

"Thank-you," She said as we got out of the car.

I took her hand as we started to cross the street. She attached herself to my arm and I smiled slightly, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. She needed a a bit of normalcy, and I understood that.


	7. Suspicious

A/N: Ok, so here we go?

Chapter Seven:

Aria.

I appreciated that Ezra was trying to be the best he could to try and make me feel better. We walked across the street, his hand in mine. It felt weird, walking around downtown Rosewood with his hand around mine – foreign, but I kind of liked it. I hugged his arm and felt him peck the top of my head as we crossed the street to the little pub to get dinner. How had this become my life? I felt like at any moment my legs would give out beneath me, and I think Ezra was worried about something similar happening because he seemed to be trying to support me a little.

We had just gotten to the door when I saw Jenna and Noel walking up the street the other way – heading towards us. I felt like I was going to explode at them. They had something to do with mom, I knew it. Even if we couldn't prove that it was Noel or one of their friends driving the car – I knew A had something to do with it. Then, in turn I knew that they had something to do with A, which made me want to slap them. They smiled cruelly at me, and I shivered – they knew.

They knew why I looked so disheveled and upset, they knew why Ezra and I were out in the open. They knew everything I let go of Ezra's arm like I was going to go after them and he grabbed me from behind, around the waist.

"Aria," He breathed, "Today isn't the day to pick fights."

"They-"

"Not the day for it," He said, as I calmed down enough so that he deemed it ok to let go and grab my hand again – I knew he was right.

"Mr. Fitz," Noel nodded his head, "Keeping your girl in line, ok? I'd hate for something to happen to her."

"What is it exactly that you're getting at, Noel?" Ezra was furious – it seemed I didn't have to be the one to pick the fight.

"I'm just saying I don't like the looks she's giving Jenna and I," was Noel's cheeky reply.

"Well maybe you could give her a little slack today," Ezra suggested, not lightening his tone in the slightest.

"What were you doing at the hospital, earlier?" I interrupted, stepping up from beside Ezra, "Why were you visiting her?"

"She was my favorite teacher, I wanted to see how she was," Noel lied.

"If I figure out how to prove—"

"Prove what?" Jenna asked as Ezra put a hand on my back.

"Aria, we should go in," He started strong, but the last few words kind of just fell out.

I couldn't look at Noel or Jenna anymore, and allowed Ezra to lead me into the pub. We found a little table towards the back corner and he sat with me on one side of the booth. I felt his arm around me, but I just felt numb. I took his other hand when he offered it, just because I wanted him there with me. I wanted Ezra to just stay with me, even if I couldn't say anything, or do anything. I knew he was dying to ask, but I also knew he wouldn't – that whole situation with Noel and Jenna outside.

"Jenna and Noel have been working with A," I told him.

"Who you think is responsible for your mom…"

"Yes," I replied and he nodded.

"Ok," He replied, "Wish you would have told me that before. I would love an excuse to give Noel and nice fist to the face."

"Ezra, he'd…"

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't think about it," He replied, kissing my cheek, "When I see him, even if he wasn't as much of a creep as he is and he was a normal creep. All I can think about is his hands on you."

"Ezra- he never really…"

"I know," He replied, as the bartender headed over to us, "But it's still…I physically saw him kissing you."

"I might point out he later saw us making out in your car," I smirked slightly.

"Well that does help," He smiled, and I couldn't help but crack one too.

"But I understand," I told him, leaning up and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Oh, by the way – Jason," He took a deep breath, "He stopped me on the way out of the hospital, he was worried about you. I told him if you felt like talking you'd call him later. He said he only wanted to check in on you."

"What'll you be having?" The bartender asked, not even giving us a second glance as he looked down at his writing pad.

"I'll have the roast beef," Ezra told him.

"I'll have the bacon cheddar burger," I named the biggest burger on the menu, "Onion rings, and French fries."

"Onion rings and French fries?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked up at me.

"Is that a problem?" Ezra was feeling rather protective today.

"Not at all," He replied, catching the hint and perhaps that my mascara was all messed up, "To drink?"

"I'll have a coke," Ezra said and I nodded.

"I'll have the same."

Once he was gone I excused myself to go to the bathroom and clean up, after being in the hospital so long. I went in and went straight to the toilet, and puked. This was just too much for me. I finished, took a deep breath and went back out of the stall I was in. I rinsed out my mouth, popped in a piece, or three, or gum and started touching up my make-up, completely taking off all of my eye makeup then reapplying it. I took a deep breath and was about to head back when my phone went off.

I'm not exactly done with you just yet. I'd hate for you to think I was finished with you now. ~A

Not entirely sure what to make of it, I just threw my phone back in my purse. What more could A do to me? They're taking mom, will they try and take Dad? Mike? Ezra? What would be the point of all of that? What would it accomplish? It would destroy me, yes, but was that really the intent? Or was there something deeper A was trying to accomplish?

I walked back out to the pub and saw Ezra over by the jukebox. I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged as Van Morrison's song, Brown Eyed Girl filled the room. I smiled, and he grinned, probably just happy to see me show a hint of happiness. I could tell how worried he was, with everything, even if he tried to mask it, and cover it up. He met me halfway to the table and took me by the hand, singing along to the song.

"My brown eyed girl, You my brown eyed girl," He sang it softly but I could hear him clearly, "Sha la la la la la la la la la te dah."

"Really?" I teased him and he leaned in and kissed the side of my head.

"I'm pretty sure the song applies," He stated, "You do have the most beautiful brown eyes I've ever seen. You are female…you see where I'm going with this?"

"Came with the jokes," I teased as we slid back into the booth.

"Just thought it might make you smile, which it did," He quipped as he allowed me to rest my head on his shoulder.

"How the hell did this happen?" I asked as our drinks were delivered.

"Would you like the onion rings ahead of time?" The bartender asked.

"Yes," I said before he had even finished his sentence, with a very pointed tone.

"Good luck with that one, buddy," He said softly as he walked away.

"What did he mean by that?" I asked and Ezra shrugged.

"You're just a little intense right now," He said innocently, "Which is fine, given what's been going on."

"Ok," I tried to calm myself down as he returned with the onion rings, "Thank you."

He nodded as I started to eat them, rather nervously.

"Aria…?" Ezra asked as he stole one from the plate.

"I'm eating my feelings," I said and he gave me sort of a slow nod.

"Ok," He said, and continued to help me with my plate of onion rings occasionally.

I wanted to show him the text, so he might understand my nervousness – but it seemed like white noise. It was nice, being able to sit here, not in complete normalcy because I think I missed that boat a long time ago, but something that was almost normal. The fact that Ezra was there by my side was a lot of help. I leaned against him as I finished off my rings and he put the basket on the end of the table.

"Feel better?" He put his arm around me.

"Not really, but those onion rings were delicious."

"They were," He agreed, kissing the side of my head.

"I'm full now."

"You want to take our food to go?" He asked, running a comforting hand around my shoulder.

"No, you eat," I leaned up and kissed his cheek, "Then, I think we should head back to the hospital."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, and take your time eating," I told him, "We'll just head back afterwards?"

"That's fine."

Ezra insisted on making one little pit stop on the way back to the hospital – to get a big cheese pizza, a liter of Mike's favorite soda, and a large coffee for dad. He was so sweet, and Kind, generous, and he loved me. He loved me so much that it overflowed onto my family, it was like all he wanted was to be there for not just me, for all of us. I leaned over and kissed his cheek as he put the car in park back at the hospital once again. He smiled as he turned to face me, looking sweetly into my eyes.

"What was that for?" His eye brow arched sexily as he looked straight into my eyes.

"Because I love you," I told him, reaching up and stroking the edge of the hair near his temple, "And I love how much you care – about my family."

"Why wouldn't I care?" He asked, "Aria, I am so in love with you, it's ridiculous. I want your family to like and accept me, because I hope someday they'll be my family too. However, that's not what's going on right now. I care about them because I love you so much and know how much you love them. Am I making any sense? I want your family to be happy, because I know it goes hand in hand with your happiness. I'm just screwing this up even more aren't I?"

"No, I understand what you're saying," I replied, and leaned in and kissed him softly, "I get it."

"Good," He took a deep breath, "Shall we head in?"

"Yeah," I said as he took the liter of soda and the pizza box from the back seat.

I carried dad's coffee and the take-out box with my burger and fries in it as I walked with Ezra towards the front door of the hospital. I looked over at him as I opened the door for us and smiled to myself. There was so much confliction and toil in my life right in that moment, and yet I looked at Ezra and I couldn't help but feel hope, and happiness. In that moment, I knew that I was going to be ok. When all of this was over, when A moved on or was run over several times with an eighteen wheeler, when mom was gone – I was going to – eventually – be ok. Ezra, he wasn't going anywhere and he loved me, and that was worth everything.

"Hi," Ezra said softly as we walked into mom's hospital room – it was just dad and Mike.

Mom's room had very quickly turned from hopeful and cheerful to dull and gloomy. This afternoon playing soft music or talking at normal volumes would have been fine, but now it just didn't seem appropriate.

"We thought you guys might want some real food," Ezra said as he set the pizza down on the side table between them, handing Mike the bottle of soda, "I'm sure you could get some cups from the nurses."

"Here, dad," I said, handing him the coffee.

"Thanks," He could barely speak as he tried to respond.

"No problem," Ezra said as he sank into a chair across the bed from Dad and Mike.

"Where's Jason?" I asked curiously.

"Headed home about fifteen minutes ago," Dad replied.

I nodded as I took Ezra's hand firmly. I liked that he squeezed my hand in response, and then just sort of sat there and watched me watch my mother's breathing pattern. I looked up to check the monitors, then over across the room to Mike who had finished staring at the pizza, and was eating a slice, the bottle of soda at his feet.

"I'll go get you a cup," I got up and Ezra tried to stop me.

"I've got it," He said, and I shook my head, "You can stay here…"

"Babe," I said sternly, "I can get a cup."

He sat back down and I headed down the hallway towards the nurses' station. Wren was standing there so I asked him if he knew where they were and he told me to wait there while he went and got me a few. I was standing there waiting when I started to look around at my surroundings. Not much had changed, and by now I pretty much knew the hospital like a GPS. I stopped though, when I saw Jason with his head in his hands over near the hallway that led to the waiting room.

"Jason? I thought dad said you left," I walked over to him.

"Couldn't – I feel awful, Aria," He replied.

"You didn't-"

"Your family, they were still…" He looked up at me, and his eyes looked like he was going to cry.

"C'mere," I said as he stood up and I gave him a quick hug.

"Your family was the only one still –normal," He said and I just looked up sadly at him.

"It's gonna be ok," I told him bravely, "We'll find a new normal."

"I'm gonna go, now," He said and I just gave him a little look.

"You sure? We brought pizza back," I said and he gave me sort of a half-smirk.

"No, I should get going," He replied and gave me another quick hug, "I'll see you later, ok?"

"Ok," I said sadly, I wanted people to be there, I didn't want it to just be us – my family, and yes I considered Ezra as part of that.

I turned around to see Ezra, who was holding the cups and Wren was sitting back behind the nurses' station.

"I got the cups," He said and I nodded as he nodded towards Jason's retreating back, "What was that about?"

"He's just really torn up about mom," I said, "We basically grew up together – and he was just saying how my family was the last one that had survived this long. He misses Ally more than he lets on."

"Ok," He replied, his eyes going softer than they had been as he wrapped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

"Thank you, for all of this, Ezra," I leaned up and pecked his lips softly.

"I have mentioned, that while I wish I had superman powers to make this all not have happened," He said, "But other than that, given the circumstances there's no other place I'd rather be."

"Aria?" Hanna, Spencer, and Emily all burst through the door into the hallway we were in.

Hanna and Emily pried me from Ezra's arm and hugged me each while Ezra took a step back. Wren walked over and stood next to Ezra.

"Girls, this is a hospital," He reminded us with a playful tone.

"Sorry," Hanna said as Wren smiled hopefully over at Spencer.

"C'mon," Ezra said, seeing their eyes lock and herding me and the other two back towards mom's room, "See you in a few minutes, spencer?"

"Yeah," she said with a certain level of uncertainty as we headed into mom's room.

"Here ya go," Ezra handed Mike the cups – I was happy to see dad had picked up a slice too.

"Girls," Dad looked weary as he attempted to speak.

"Don't worry, Mr. Montgomery," Hanna said, "We just wanted to come by, you know, before…"

"And we wanted to check on Aria," said Emily, "See her with our own eyes."

"We won't be staying long," Spencer said as she walked in too, Ezra sat back down in the corner.

"Ok," Dad said and I went and sat back down next to Ezra.

They took a few minutes in turn to hold mom's hand, and whisper something, a little prayer, or a little something they wanted to say. It was really morbid, like a pre-wake while she was still technically living, though I assumed that this was something I was going to have to deal with for a few days, dad had mentioned that family members would be arriving tomorrow. He had called them just before he came to the hospital. I couldn't believe this was all the same day. I wanted to crash- but I didn't want to leave mom, and I didn't want to separate from Ezra.

"I guess we'll see you around, Aria?" Hanna asked as they were getting ready to leave.

"Yeah," I said as Ezra caressed my arm subtly.

"It was nice seeing you, Mr. Fitz, Mr. Montgomery – Mike," Emily said and the three of them excused themselves from the room.

I leaned over and set my head on Ezra's shoulder, his head fell onto the side of my face as if to nuzzle me, and hold my head there. I watched mom's chest rise and fall, making sure she was still breathing as my eyes started to close without my approval. Ezra shifted slightly, made me sit up a minute, then let me come back as he draped his coat over me like a blanket. I snuggled up in it and he put an arm around me as I fell into one of the most uncomfortable sleeps I've ever had – I blame the chair I was sitting in.


	8. Wrong

A/N: sorry this took as long as it did… hope you guys like it. Read. Enjoy. Review. :) love ya guys!

Chapter Eight:

Aria.

If I had thought the day before was bad, it was nothing anywhere near the next. Ezra cancelled his classes for the day so he could stay at the hospital with me as opposed to going and leaving me for the few hours that he should have been at Hollis. Dad didn't comment, I thought he might, when Ezra didn't leave for the day. It was worse, the knowing, the sitting around and waiting for mom to just die. The relatives and friends coming to say goodbye – I wasn't even ready to say goodbye, how could they be?

When Grandma and Grandpa showed up, to say good bye I couldn't stay. Parents saying goodbye to their child was hard enough without it pertaining to me. Unspoken, we decided that Ezra and I wouldn't overtly display that we were together while everyone was streaming through – just that he was a friend to the whole family. I was waiting out in the hall, near the waiting room while they were inside. I saw as Ezra excused himself and was walking down the hall as my phone went off in my pocket.

_Poison's a bitch, ain't it little liar? Poor mummy had to get mixed up in this. ~A_

I could feel my eyes expand and almost dropped my phone. I went to walk away, I was going to fall apart, and Ezra would comfort me. He couldn't with this many people around. I needed to get away. A had been poisoning my mother – but how? When had we left her alone long enough? With what could he poison her without the doctors knowing it was taken externally. Could it be reversed? The doctors said this morning that her kidneys were shutting down – too late.

"Aria," Ezra called as I broke into a run.

I went through the waiting room and noticed that it was filled with kids from school, teachers, and my mom's friends. Ezra followed quietly behind me until I got outside. As soon as I walked out of the door I could hear Ezra running after me through the parking lot. I didn't know where else to run, I just ran to his car, where I let myself just fall apart. I collapsed, my side against the car as I just let the tears stream down my face and my whole composure drop. It wasn't even a few seconds before I could feel Ezra's arms around me.

"Aria," He breathed, as I turned to press my face into his chest, "Ok, ok, get it all out. It's ok, you're allowed…"

"No, Ezra," I took my phone out of my pocket and handed it to him, text message up.

He read it quickly, then put the phone on the top of his car while he wrapped me back up in his arms. He leaned with his back to the car and just held me close while I just bawled my eyes out into his shirt. He kissed the top of my head, then left a trail down to my forehead sweetly. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he ran his hands all around my back, soothing me as best he could. I felt the side of his face pressed up against the side of mine. I let him comfort me for a few minutes, then started to work on pulling myself together. With mom, and A, I could cry for the rest of my life – but I wasn't giving A that satisfaction. I would cry, I would fall apart, but I would come out the other side.

"We should go back in," I attempted to wipe excess eye make-up from my face, Ezra brought his hand up to help.

"Ok, beautiful," He replied, leaning in and kissing my forehead as he took my phone off the top of his car and slipped it into his pocket, "I'm keeping this, by the way."

"What if—"

"This A? If they're really up to speed with everything will know I have your phone," He replied, "They've screwed around with you enough – and I'm not going to let them hurt you anymore. Especially right now. You need to be with your family, and your mom."

"Thank you," I took a deep breath and he nodded as he grabbed my hand quickly and squeezed briefly, "I love you."

"I love you too," He leaned down and kissed me softly.

"I can't sit in there much longer," I said as he nodded.

"We don't have to go back just yet – I'm sure if something were to happen your dad would call you…"

"So we can sit outside for a while?" I asked, "So I don't have to just sit there and watch mom die?"

"We don't," He replied, "We can walk around for a little while – or go…"

"Can we go see the babies?"

"Babies?"

"The babies, on the maternity floor," I shrugged, "Babies make things better."

"Ok, we can do that, if you want," He smiled a little bit.

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun," He replied, as we headed back towards the hospital, "It's actually pretty cute."

"Cute?"

"Babies cheer you up?"

"I can get Hanna or Spencer or Emily to go with me."

"No, no," He smiled as we walked back in.

"You're a jerk," I complained.

"But you love me," He replied, and I cracked a smile, "There it is."

We walked into the hospital and deftly avoided everyone in the waiting room. I don't even think anyone saw us get into the elevator, Wren was already on it. I hit the button for the maternity floor and he raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you two…"

"Babies," Ezra said.

"A break," I said, hitting Ezra on the arm playfully, "And, mom has enough people in and out of her room right now."

"Understood," He replied, "Is Spencer-"

"She's coming in later, I think," I told him.

"I get off in a few minutes so," He said, "I was thinking of sticking around a while – if you don't think that'd be in bad taste."

"It's fine, Wren," I told him, "She's my mom – but everyone else grew up with her too. With everything that's going on you're more than welcome to stick around as long as you want."

"Thanks," He said.

"No problem, wren," I said as the elevator doors opened, "If you're going to be around – be around. If not, then don't be."

"Ok," He said as I took Ezra's hand and led him off onto the floor.

"And we have babies," I said happily as we went up to the big picture window that saw into the nursery, "It's so great. Up here, it's the best day of these women's lives, it's the beginning of all of these lives – there's hope up here. Down there, there's hell, and there's depressing things and pain."

"So we're watching the babies."

"We are watching babies."

We were up there for about fifteen minutes before my phone went off in Ezra's pocket. He checked it quickly.

"It's your dad, he's wondering where you went off to," He informed me when I made no motion to even turn to look.

"Ok, we can head back down," I took a deep breath and turned from the little boy I had been watching sleep.

"You sure?" He asked and I nodded.

He put his hand gently between my shoulder blades and guided me back to the elevator. It was oddly comforting that he didn't remove it while we walked through the waiting room. I could feel people's eyes on us, the few that were still there. There were a few whispers and I turned to look at Ezra's face, which was unwavering and – he moved his hand up to hold the back of my neck as we walked – sending a protective glance around the room, as if daring them to try and say something.

We walked through the doors and he dropped his hand as we approached the room. My grandparents were gone and it was once again just dad, Mike, Hanna's mom, and my Aunt. I sat down where I had been sitting the past couple days and Ezra sank down next to me.

"Where'd you guys go?" Mike asked.

"For a walk," I said simply.

"Oh, I could use some fresh air," He replied and Ezra hopped up.

"C'mon, I'll take you out to lunch," He said and Mike raised his eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yeah, c'mon," Ezra gave me a quick look to make sure it was ok that he left and I nodded, "We'll be back soon."

"Ok," My voice was nearly non-existent.

Within a few minutes of Ezra and Mike leaving my aunt also said her goodbyes and told us to call her if something was to happen tonight, but otherwise she'd be back in the morning. I couldn't even imagine, losing a sibling – losing Mike. Parents, while yes this was terrible and completely not in her time – parents eventually you knew you were going to have to bury. But your sister? Your brother? Dad followed her out and told the people in the waiting room t go home, and that they could come back tomorrow if they wanted.

"Where were you and Ezra?" Dad asked conversationally once we were alone in the room with mom.

"I just couldn't take it anymore," I told him, "He went with me upstairs to look at the babies."

"So you and Ezra…"

"Do we want to have this conversation now?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"Can't really think of a better time," He replied, "And your mother's here."

"Right," I swallowed, "Ok, so what do you want to know?"

"Everything?" He made it a question.

"Well, we met at a pub before school started. He assumed I was a college student, and I didn't exactly correct him," I said, "We hit it off we talked about writing and poetry and music. We had fun. Later we realized that he was my teacher, when I walked into class and there he was… So we tried to stop it – but it was the week of Ally's funeral, and we couldn't. So then we tried again to not be, and I tried dating this kid Noel – and then Ezra published this poem and he had made me think that he didn't love me – but the poem proved otherwise. Then after that we just kinda figured we'd find a way to work it out. A couple weeks ago, I broke up with him – for a stupid reason – the secretive relationship thing was wearing on us. And he stepped up. He told me he didn't want to lose me, for any reason – and that's when we decided to tell you."

"And you never were dating Holden?"

"No," I said, "Holden was only ever a friend."

"And your relationship it's – are you guys…"

"No, dad we're not sleeping together," I told him, "We're breaking enough rules as it is. Besides, he's sweet and we both understand that that's a big step."

"But you guys are serious about each other?"

"Very."

"No sex?"

"No sex," I said, "We've had sleepovers a couple of times – but no sex."

"And you truly love this man?"

"Yes."

"Well, I think, given what you've told me, and what I've observed," He said, "Given all that's happened – as long as this relationship stays as it is... Ezra's a very good man, and there for you, he loves you. Possibly in the clearest and purest way."

"Dad, what're you saying?"

"Maybe, we can let him stick around for a while," Dad said, "Maybe it was just a case of time – which will be cleared up soon enough anyways."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," He replied and I smiled slightly, "But if anything changes, if I find out you two…before you're…"

"Ok," I said, done.

I looked back behind me to the window and saw Spencer, Emily, and Hanna standing out in the hall. I assumed they had tried to text me, but Ezra still had my phone. I went outside and found them.

"Hey, Aria," Emily said sadly and I gave them a weak smile.

"We tried texting you, where's your phone?" Spencer asked.

"Ezra has it – I keep getting these taunting texts from A," I said in a hushed tone.

"So he took your phone?"

"He said A had had enough fun with me lately."

"A very true statement," Spencer said and I nodded.

"How is she?"

"As of this morning? Her kidneys were starting to shut down."

"Awe, I'm so sorry, Aria," Hanna said, looking in through the window at my mom, just lying there waiting to die.

"Have you guys been getting much chatter from A?"

"No, it's been kinda quiet on our end," Emily said as we started to walk towards the waiting room.

The waiting room was decidedly empty comparatively speaking to the rest of the day, and we found a corner of the room to sit in. It was weird, like we were all huddled together in the corner trying to keep away from everyone else.

"So how'll we get in touch with you?" Emily asked and I shrugged.

"Ezra's with me most of the time – he'll let me know if it's one of you guys," I told them, "And I'm sorry but that's perfectly ok with me if I don't have to get any more texts from A."

"What have they been saying?"

"Just like 'I'm not done with you yet'," I breathed in deeply before continuing, "And claiming poisoning mom. That's why I can't stay in there all that long, A is murdering mom – just really slowly. One of the texts I got today was basically telling me they had been sneaking poison into her system."

"It would have had to be organic," Spencer said, "So the doctors wouldn't see it."

"Did you tell the doctors?" Hanna asked and I shrugged.

"Wren? You mean?" I asked and Spencer blushed, "No, the poison's already shutting down her kidneys and there's already too much in her system them knowing it was someone poisoning her won't help her at all."

"So what's going on with you and Wren?" Emily asked Spencer and she shrugged.

"We're…"

"He's head over heels in love with her," I said and Spencer looked like she could have impaled me.

"We're seeing.."

"Seeing what?" Hanna asked.

"We're seeing how it goes," Spencer said and we all raised our eyebrows.

"Seriously?"

"He's really sweet, and I don't know," She said, "I like him."

I sat and talked to my friends for a while before they all decided to go. They had school the next day, and I couldn't even think about school. Wren waited while we chatted on the other side of the room, and left with Spencer. Oncer they were all gone, I thought maybe dad could use some extra time alone with mom, so I headed down to the cafeteria. I wasn't necessarily going to get anything – I just needed the little extension on my break from mom's room.

"Jason?" He was sitting at one of the back tables with a coffee.

"What're you doing here?" I asked as I sat down.

"I help at risk youth, remember?" He reminded me kindly, "Spending long nights in this place is part of the job description most of the time – sadly."

"Are you sure that's a good thing for you to be doing?" I asked, "I mean, it's none of my business, I guess. Just mentally, it must be draining."

"It is draining," He said, "But, when I see kids like your brother turning around and doing better, it's completely worth it."

"I guess that's true."

"Where is Mike? In your mom's room?"

"No, he wanted to get out," I said, "Ezra offered to take him to lunch, but that was hours ago – And Ezra has my phone. I assume they're having bonding time or something. They'll probably be back soon though."

"Ezra has your phone?" He seemed put off.

"Yeah, it's a long story," I said, "I was upset and he just didn't want me to do anything stupid."

"Got a keeper there, huh?" He asked and I nodded.

"I love him so much," I said, "But, right now? I feel dead inside, I'm worried he'll get annoyed, or realize I'm way too much work. He'll go find something easier."

"He won't."

"How would you know?"

"Because if I had you I wouldn't let you go for any reason," He replied, "And him? He loves you, you can tell he's not going anywhere."

"Thanks, Jason," I felt a little awkward, but wasn't sure what to say.

"It's cool," said Jason, "As long as he knows how good he's got it."

"Are you ok, Jason?"

"I'm fine," He replied, "Can I get you something? A coffee? Something to eat?"

"I should head back," I said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in Jason's presence.

He was weird, Jason. He had been acting weird for a while now, and I was starting to wonder why. Was he just trying to just think of me as a friend, and Ezra's now constant presence was wearing on him? Was that incredibly conceded? I looked back at him sitting at his table as I left the cafeteria. Something was up with him.


	9. Anger

A/N: Ok, so sorry for the confusion, hopefully this chapter will be better now... Hope you all enjoy the chapter….and ordinarily it would take longer than it did, but I had a snow day! It's a little short, but I have a slight surprise for next chapter… Read. Enjoy. Review… :)

Chapter Nine:

Ezra.

I stood in front of the mirror in my apartment fixing a black tie around my neck. I couldn't believe I was doing this as I flattened the rest of my suite – black, classic. And honestly, it was a good fit – too bad I would never be able to wear it again. I took a deep breath as I fixed the front of my hair. I couldn't even think about how much I had been dreading this day, how I had prayed it would never happen. Not for Aria, not for her family. My family, I couldn't help but think that they would be – eventually, that was at least my plan.

"Aria," I walked across the apartment to the bathroom door and knocked.

"I'm just getting out of the shower now," She replied softly.

"Ok, you alright? You want anything?" He asked, "I could run out and get you something – or make you something?"

"I'm not really hungry," She replied, and I nodded – even if she couldn't have seen me.

"Well eventually you have to eat something," I said, "Mind if I throw some cereal into a baggy and put it in your purse or something?"

"That'd be fine," She replied sweetly, but in a way that made me know she was humoring me, "Thanks, Babe."

**FLASH**

I had been nervous about leaving Aria at the hospital, but I had been looking for an excuse to check in on Mike. He hadn't been saying much – and from Aria I knew he struggled with depression. I knew that he was seeing a therapist, and hed the day before – but that was before he was told his mother was going to die. If I was going to be permitted to stick around, like I assumed I would be, at least for right now, then I should be there for Mike too. At this point, I wanted to bond with him. I was serious about Aria, which meant I was extraordinarily keen to bond with Mike, who from what I've heard is a pretty amazing kid.

"How's the arm?" I asked as I walked with Mike out of the hospital.

"Ok," He replied, subconsciously touching the cast as I led the way to my car, "I almost forget it's useless sometimes."

"How you doing?" I asked, "I know I'm here for Aria – but I'm worried about you too. I'm worried about all of you guys."

"Meh," He replied and I nodded.

"A good enough answer for me," I told him as we arrived at my car, "Any preferences for lunch?"

"You're really going to take me out to lunch?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, unless you want to do something else," I replied and he nodded.

"I'm really angry," He stated it as fact and I nodded – even not knowing all the facts, he had the right to be.

"Do you like soccer?"

"A little," He was so confused, he was giving me this look like I was nuts, "What's that got to do…"

"Why don't we find a net?" I suggested, "Let off some steam. – I have a ball in my trunk."

"You serious?"

"Yeah, we'll get dinner afterwards," I told him as we got into the car, and I put Aria and I's cell phones in the cup holder closest to me.

**FLASH**

I went over to the cupboard in the kitchen area and grabbed a plastic zip lock bag. I filled it with Cocoa Puffs, figuring that if I was going to get her to eat anything, it would be chocolate. I was so relieved that Byron had let her stay with me the past couple days, we had been in on the plans – but Aria wasn't comfortable really going back home yet. She would have to after today, but her being able to get ready here, especially this morning – it would help.

"Hey, babe?" She came out of bathroom still towel drying her hair.

She was wearing a cute little black dress, lots of lace. My thoughts very briefly wandered to the black lace shirt she had teased me with what seemed like ages ago, when she came into my office looking for me. I quickly sent the memory out of my head as I looked up from over by the cabinet where I was about to get us out a couple mugs, coffee for me, tea for her.

"Yes?"

When I turned I could see her, and I could see the cracks starting to show through her deviant disguise she'd had on all morning. I walked over to her, and she dropped her hair towel – letting me take her very carefully into my arms as a few tears started to fall from her face. I pulled her tight and put my chin on the top of her head.

"Deep breaths, one step at a time," I told her, she had been freaking out the night before, "Just like we were saying last night, remember? Be strong, but no one expects you to be put together today, ok?"

"Ok," She took a deep breath.

"Finish getting ready, ok?" I replied, kissing her forehead, "I'm going to make you some tea."

"Okay," she took a deep breath as I wiped a stray tear from her eye.

**FLASH**

We had found, thanks to Mike, old abandoned soccer fields that Mike had apparently played on as a kid. I was in net, or rather to the side of it, so that he could kick it as far and hard as he could while I retrieved them and sent the ball back. My original idea was batting cages, but that wouldn't have worked with Mike's broken arm. This however, seemed to be helping a little bit. When he started to slow down I picked up the ball and went to stand with him.

"Thanks, for this," He said and I nodded.

"No problem," I said, "You done? We can keep going if you want. Otherwise, we can pick something on the way back? Or we can stop and get something to bring back."

"Chinese?" He asked.

"To bring back?" I checked and he nodded, "Yeah, I'll call it in once we get to the car."

We walked back to the car, kicking the ball as we walked. We hopped into the car, and I handed him my phone so he could order whatever he wanted, I just reminded him to get enough for Aria and Byron too. I ran in and got the food while I left the car running with him in it. I got back to the car with the couple of bags and handed them to him.

"You know, you're actually really cool," Mike said and I smiled.

"Thank –you?" I said slightly awkwardly as we headed back towards the hospital.

"So, what exactly are you doing with Aria?" Mike asked and I smirked.

"I'm in love with her, Mike," I told him flat out, "That's what I'm doing by being with her. We're not – it's not as c-"

"I get it, you're not…" Mike said and I nodded.

"I just love her," I repeated, "And I want to be able to spend as much time with her as possible. Being whatever she needs, I guess."

"You are such a pansy," Mike replied, half-teasing.

"Gee thanks," I said and he chuckled.

"It's nothing bad it's just you're… whipped, dude."

"Not completely," I replied, "And, it's completely worth it."

**FLASH**

"Ok, I'm ready, Ezra," Aria emerged from the bathroom all done up and ready to go.

"You sure?"

"No," she said, "But we have to meet dad in ten minutes."

"Ok," I said, handing her tea in a travel mug, "C'mon, let's go."

"Oh, and talking to Dad last night, he says you can be wherever," I said, "You can sit next to me, or behind me, with Wren and everyone if that's more comfortable."

"Could I sit behind you, if that's ok?" I said and she nodded.

"Let's go."

**FLASH**

We pulled into the hospital and I dropped Mike off at the door with the food, and went to park. I was heading into the hospital again, and really was beginning to think this was becoming too much of a common thing for me. I was walking down the hall when I saw Jason leaving, going the other way – visibly upset.

"Jason?" I asked curiously and he just looked at me, he looked terrorized, "What's-"

"You better get in there, man," He said, "Her vitals are all in the toilet."

"We're you going?"

"I really can't stay," He replied.

"You're Aria's friend, you're Mike's mentor…"

"I can't stay, you should get in there."

"How are you leaving?" I asked, "She deserves to have you there, you're her friend. How are you bailing?"

"She does have better - you," He told me pointedly, "Just get the hell in there."

He brushed by me without another word, or giving me a chance for rebuttal. I rolled my eyes and finished walking down the hall towards Ella's room. Was this it? Was the ticking bomb that had been going the past week about to go off? I walked into the room and saw Aria, crying with her hand over her mother's. Byron had collapsed into a chair and Mike was just frozen at the end of the bed. There was a doctor in the corner who had, apparently, just turned off her heart monitor, which had been beeping signaling flat line.

"Aria," I breathed as I walked flew across the room and took her into my arms as she let go of her mother's hand.

Devastation. It was the only word that could describe the room as I looked around, I sat down in a chair with Aria on my lap, trying in what I knew was a useless attempt to comfort her. She cried and sobbed into my shoulder while I stroked my hands over her back, trying to provide some sort of soothing sensation. I looked over at Byron, who had basically turned to stone and was just staring at Ella's body with no sense of expression at all on his face. Mike was just apparently trying imitate his father, but I could see the rage coming through on his face as he stood up to leave – unable to stay.

"Mike," I said and Byron looked to me.

"Let him go," Byron replied and I tossed Mike my keys.

"The ball's still in the back," I told him, "I'm sure you can find a wall to kick it against if you want."

**FLASH**

I drove Aria and myself from my apartment to the diner towards the center of town where we were to meet Byron and Mike. Mike, to the best of my knowledge had been staying with Byron at the house, not wanting to leave him alone. I parked the car momentarily, just enough for Byron to realize that we were there, then we followed his car to the church. At this point, I wasn't worried about the whole town finding out about Aria and I. We had a tentative 'ok' from Byron and Mike was ok with it, and really that was all that mattered to me.

We got out of the cars once we had parked out behind an old white church. No one else was there yet, and the casket, I assumed, was still in the hearse. Aria reached for my hand as we headed towards the church doors, and I took it. I squeezed it lightly, then abandoned it to wrap my arm around her instead. Mike and Byron stayed outside, in order to oversee the casket being brought in.

Aria and I went and sat in the church, me for now sitting with her. I still hadn't decided whether I was going to actually attempt to sit behind her, or with her. I figured that arrangement would depend on the next few minutes. It was eerie, being in the church alone, and at this point I wasn't all that sure how further to comfort her.

"Aria," I heard Hanna call for her as we were silently just watching in small horror as Byron and Mike helped arrange the casket.

We looked around to see Hanna, Caleb, Spencer, Wren, and Emily walking down the center Aisle. I got up, then leaned down to help Aria up as they approached us. Some other people were filing in, like the other girls' parents, Ella's friends, teachers from Rosewood High, just about everyone in town. Jenna and Noel walked in the front door and Aria looked directly at me, almost glaring.

"I got it," I told her, kissing the top of her head, not caring that everyone was watching as I did and went to confront them.

"We came to pay our respects," Noel was immediately defensive as I approached.

"Then go visit her gravestone later, once everyone's gone," I said, "You two's presence is only going to upset Aria and the other girls more than they already are. Ok, so just leave – please? That was the idea, right – of coming? Haven't you guys done enough damage?"

"Fine, Mr. Fitz," Jenna said, "C'mon Noel, he's clearly just trying to protect his little girlfriend."

I walked behind them until they left, and then was standing out on the steps. I scanned the crowd of people and then saw Jason. He was in a black suit and heading up the steps towards the door. My blood boiled. There he was and he was going to try to just walk right back into their lives again. He had abandoned them, fled, ran away the moment that they needed him to be there. This was not going to fly.

"So what're you doing here?" I asked him as he paused when he saw me.

"I was just gonna sit in the back, ok?"

"I don't understand you," I told him.

"You don't have to," He replied, 'In fact, it's better that you don't. You and me? We're never going to be friends. We can't be. Because I'm always going to be in love with Aria – and you're always going to have her. She loves you, not me. I get that you're annoyed that she still wants me to be around, but think aboiut how I feel. To her you're so much better than me, and everything she wants. Me? I'm friend zoned. And I guess I'm ok with that – but really, Ezra? You're the luckiest son of a bitch I've ever met. And yet somehow, instead of being in there, with her – where she wants you, you're out here worried about me."


	10. A Friend

A/N: So, surprises…. A Jason chapter… so hopefully this flashback set up will be better for all you guys… sorry about that…I got the feeling you were all kind of wondering what was going on in his head… hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Ten:

Jason.

Two weeks ago: 

I came out of my house that afternoon, and all I could think of was Aria. I had been hiding out for what felt like months. I felt like a lovesick douche bag. I could picture them, Aria and that asshole. I could picture him holding her, him kissing her, and it made my stomach turn with disgust. Aria was all I had been thinking about for months, longer than I had been hiding myself away. I missed her, but I knew somehow if I actually went to see her that it would just hurt worse.

It wasn't fair, she clung to the guy like he was a life preserver in the middle of the ocean. The thing that killed me was, I couldn't think of a reason why she shouldn't be with him. Sure he had once been her teacher, but other than that the guy was perfect, simply a better man than I would ever be, than I ever could be. The killer, truly, was that Aria belonged with him and I felt as though somehow I was destined to be me. To be this desperate guy, in love with another man's girl, taking up hermit-like tendencies and still not able to get her out of his head.

I took a deep breath and headed out to the shed when I saw a car I didn't recognize in the driveway. I walked over to it, and saw a note tacked to the windshield. I looked around and saw that no one was around before I grabbed the all too familiar note. Since Alison disappeared I had been getting little notes, mostly threatening, from this 'A' person. It started the morning we realized she was missing, which had made me think that she was alive – right up until they found her body.

_Hey, got this for you. Better get rid of it before the cops show up… someone's missing it… ~A_

Shit. I nearly said it aloud, but I wasn't used to talking anymore – not out loud. I looked into the windshield and saw the keys laying out in the driver's seat. I looked around again, not sure what I should do. How does one get rid of a clearly stolen car, that's just sitting in their driveway waiting to be found. I moved it, hid it behind the house for the time being, but how long before Garrett showed up? He stopped in to see me now and again, what if he saw the car?

I went back inside and ended up just sitting in the kitchen looking out at the car sitting on the back lawn. What if Mr. Hastings saw it? He'd been looking for a way to get rid of me for a while – which was a whole other problem. I took my phone out of my pocket and set it on the counter – willing it not to go off. Mostly my only 'human' contact lately was from A, if you could call that monster human. However, occasionally I got a text from Aria, asking if I was ok, saying she was worried about me. As much as those hurt, they were still nice to get.

I only left the car around back for about an hour while I checked on a couple photos developing in the garage, then I hopped back into the front seat. I could drive it pretty much anywhere – right? Just ditch it somewhere and let them find it? Think it was anything more than kids. I was driving it down side streets, attempting to avoid any sort of police. I was passing by the high school when I got distracted. I had spotted Jenna standing with Garrett and Noel off to the side of the parking lot, and tried to see what they were doing.

Somehow I must have ended up on the other side of the street, and the next thing I knew was impact. The sound of crunching steal and screeching tires surrounded me. Terrified, as I saw the car I hit almost tip to the side, and realized that the whole front half of the car was just completely gone. I floored it, going by what I had just hit and taking off down the street. I would have stopped, but I was in a stolen car – what was I supposed to do? I went to the woods out near where Alison went missing and ditched the car.

Then, I headed back – trying to keep it casual on foot as I headed back towards the accident. The other car, I had to make sure they were ok. I walked quickly towards the flashing lights that had now arrived, and saw the exact last thing I had expected or wanted to see. It had been Ella, and Mike that I had hit coming out of the school parking lot. Ella was on a stretcher, with EMTS pumping at her chest while they got into the ambulance. Mike was walking into another one, with none other than Ezra, who was covered in both of their blood and helping Mike walk into the ambulance. Perfect.

I couldn't understand how he had gotten there so quickly until I saw him talk briefly to the EMTS, then hop into his car. He was in the car behind me, he had stopped to help them. How the hell was it my luck that it was Ella, and Mike? Aria's family and their savior was Ezra? Was Ella going to be ok? Was Mike going to be ok? What the hell was going on here? I watched as Ezra followed both ambulances away, talking on his cell phone to who I could only imagine was Mr. Montgomery or Aria.

Present Day: 

I had brushed past Ezra into the church, knowing full well that that would not be the end of our conversation. However, it was as much as I could take in the given situation. I felt so guilty, it was my fault. It was my fault we were all sitting in that church, it was my fault we were putting Ella into the ground. Into the ground, a wonderful amazing – completely innocent woman. I felt like I was going to puke. The guilt that had been riddling me since the accident was just too much to bear.

I watched as Ezra returned to Aria's side, gave both her and Mike brief hugs, then took a seat in the row behind them. He sat directly behind her, with Hanna and the rest of the girls beside him, with Caleb and Wren in the next row back. I attempted to take my seat at the back of the hall, but Hanna spotted me. She very quietly excused herself and came over to the back towards me.

"Jason, why don't you come sit with us?"

"I don't think that'd be the best idea," I told her shiftily, hoping no one else would notice me.

"C'mon, Aria'd love to see you."

"Would she?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"You're her friend, aren't you?" She asked as she watched my gaze fall onto Ezra.

"I don't want to cause any problems."

"It's her mother's funeral – it's the least you can do," Hanna's usual attitude started to show through, "Ezra's a big boy – he can handle it."

"I think I'm just going to stay back here," I told her, just as Aria and Mike turned around and spotted me – waving me to come sit with them, "Fine."

I followed Hanna back over to the section where they were sitting and sat on the other side of all the girls than Ezra. He didn't even look over to give me any sort of look, just simply laid a hand on Aria's shoulder. This was almost worse than any glare he could have given me. Not only did I have Ella Montgomery's blood on my hands, it was just proving that I could not and would not ever have Aria. If she couldn't love me before, there was no way she could ever possibly love me now. What was worse even still was to see how torn up she was. It was almost worse than having the blood of a good person on your hands, seeing the girl – woman – you love crying because of you. Because of what you had done to her family, and the kicker was she didn't even know. She still wanted me around, and she wanted me as part of her comfort posse. It was killing me.

Somehow, I made it through the service – mostly just by finding a spot on the ceiling and trying not to listen to much to what was being said. It felt awful, and cold, after everything this family had done for me – to be sitting here knowing I was the cause of all this unneeded pain. I felt like an outsider, that was being thrown into the spotlight. Not only was I miserable, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. A was threatening me, I couldn't tell anyone. This, I imagined was supposed to be worse than being able to turn myself in.

"Jason," Spencer said as she stood up at the end, "C'mon, it's time to go to the cemetery."

"Oh, right," I said, getting up so that everyone could file out.

I followed them to the cars, and was going to bail when I saw Ezra give me an icy glare. I was about to get in the car when he gave Aria a kiss on the side of the head and helped her into the limousine. I guess the cat was out of the bag, not that it was a particularly solid and deceiving bag to begin with. Just about everyone in town was onto the suspicion that there was something going on between the two of them. I guess Byron didn't really seem to have a problem with it.

The burial was worse than the funeral, and it didn't help that I got a less than helpful couple texts from A, laying the guilt me about being there in the first place. I hung back, towards the back of the crowd that had gathered around the hole in the ground that they were now lowering Mrs. Montgomery's casket into. I could see over the heads that Aria had flung herself into Ezra's arms and Mike was trying extremely hard to keep a stiff upper lip. I couldn't see Byron's face but I assumed it was similar. I took a deep breath and walked over to stand behind Mike, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, man," Mike replied and close up I could see the tears starting to form in his eyes.

"It's ok, you can cry – Mike," I told him and he nodded, "There's no shame."

"Thank – you, Jason," Aria said softly and I nodded.

"Anything for you guys," I choked out as I gave Mike a quick 'man hug'.

Aria was standing so that she was in Ezra's arms. Whatever made her happy, right? When the service was over and the group started to walk away from the grave, and I fell back in the crowd not wanting to impose on the family any longer. Everyone was headed over to the Montgomery's' house, but I had no plans of going there. That would be too much, and from what I had heard Aria hadn't been to the house since before Ella had died. I couldn't imagine she would be all to happy to go back now.

"Jason," I heard her as I reached my car, and had opened the door.

She was standing in front of me, having given Ezra the slip somehow. I could see him standing by the limo waiting for her.

"Yeah?" I replied kindly.

"You're coming to the house, right?"

I shook my head.

"Wasn't going to," I had to be honest.

"Can you, please?" She asked and I took a deep breath.

"Aria, I-"

"I know," She said, "You're having a hard time with this, but I could really use I could really use you there. Mike and Dad, too."

"I'm not a fan of…" I trailed off, looking around at the amount of people that were piling into their cars.

"Will you stop by later then?" She asked curiously, "Once most of the people are gone?"

"Maybe," I told her, "I have a few things to do first though."

"Ok," She understood, and walked over closer to me, "Can I have a quick hug?"

"Of course," I replied, giving her a big hug.

I let go, and Ezra looked less than pleased over at me as Aria returned to him, but he greeted her with a quick kiss, then helped her into the limo again. How the hell had she just gotten me to agree to come around later? Ezra would not be as happy to see me as Aria would be, and that sort of made me smile just a little bit. Maybe I would stop by, after all if I was going to accept what happened and attempt to move on, remaining friends with Aria was key.

If I never talked to her again, I don't think I would ever be able to stick around. I would feel even worse than I did at the given moment. I also needed to stick around, I needed to get to know Spencer more. My sister, even if she didn't know it – and our father was threatening me and telling me to stay away from her. She was my sister, and after losing Alison, I was not going to not know another one of my sisters. Spencer was proving hard to get to know, though – like brother like sister? Like father like children?

I drove my car out to my house – my thoughts back on Aria and wishing that things could be different. Things could be better, I could have told her what had happened, or it wouldn't have happened in the first place. I could feel my stomach turning again – the guilt not settling well. I took a deep breath as I headed for the house this was a guilt I was just going to have to live with – even if I told Aria, or her father, or turned myself in I would still have to live with the guilt. This was on me.

"Hey, Jason," Spencer said awkwardly from the other yard.

"Why aren't you at Aria's?" I asked, pausing to talk to her.

"I'm heading over there in a few minutes," She said, "I had to come home for different shoes – Why aren't you there?"

"Needed a break," I told her, but she didn't seem to accept my answer, "And I figure Ezra doesn't really want me around there – I was thinking of heading over later."

"Why're you so afraid of him?"

"I'm not."

I really wasn't – he was a good guy, for the most part, but he was a bit scrawny – it wasn't that I was physically afraid of him at all. I knew that when he attacked me like he had in the past couple weeks it was mostly due to stress and trying to protect Aria. It made sense, I hadn't been the most reliable friend – I'd be pissed off and annoyed with me too. It was one thing for me to want ot still hang around, but Ezra was right. If I was going to hang around and be a friend, I had to hang around and be a friend – it wasn't like a swinging door I could keep walking in and out of.

I hopped back into my car and drove up the road back to Aria's house. There were cars filling the driveway, and lining the street. I walked up the porch and into the house – the door was open. Inside was a chaotic scene if I ever saw one. Aria was sitting on the couch in the parlor surrounded by Emily and Hanna – Caleb and Ezra were running around trying to take care of the guests, Mike was sitting with some of his cousins, and Byron was nowhere to be seen. I went over and said 'hi' to Aria, then went over to join Ezra and Caleb.

"You guys need any help?" I asked and they shook their heads.

"Where's Byron?" I asked and Caleb shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure he went to visit his brother's grave," Ezra said, "At least that's what he said when he asked us to hold down the fort."

"Right," I nodded, grabbing a finger sandwich.

"Would you mind helping Caleb with the guests?" Ezra asked and I nodded as Aria appeared out of nowhere.

"Babe," She looked like she was going to collapse.

"C'mere," Ezra told her, as he took her hand and led her back into the kitchen.

"That happen often?" I asked Caleb as he handed me a bowl of fruit salad to put out on the table.

"Today?" Caleb inquired, "About every ten minutes."


	11. Fallout

A/N: So, sorry this took a while… hope you guys enjoy and a single comment about the current season: I HATE BYRON MONTGOMERY, HE IS PURE EVIL. Anyways… that little outburst aside, Read. Enjoy. Review…

Chapter Eleven:

Aria.

I looked around as the guest and mourners had started to disperse from the house and wander off. I wasn't sure where they were going, I assumed they were headed home. I wondered a minute where Ezra was, then walked towards the kitchen, excusing myself from the few guests that were still around. Now that I realized it, most had gone home – all of Mike and I's friends – Jason, Spencer, Emily and Hanna being the exceptions. I'm sure if I really took a minute to look around Wren and Caleb would be hiding in some corner. However, for most of the few people that were left were family. I got into the kitchen and Ezra was leaning against the table, seemingly staring at the dishwasher as it ran, but I could tell he was really miles away from where he stood.

"Babe?" I asked and he snapped right back into reality – my kitchen – where he was standing.

"Aria," He brought me right into his arms and kissed me softly, "How're you holding up? Sorry I wasn't out there with you, but your friends seemed to have you under control, and I wanted to make sure most of the mess was gone by the time your father got back."

"Where did he go?" I asked, he had disappeared hours ago.

"He went for a walk," Ezra told me as I buried my face into his chest, "He's come back a few times to make sure everything's not chaos."

"Ok," I replied, losing mom was horrible enough – losing Ezra wasn't even something I could think about – I couldn't imagine the pain dad was in.

"How're you holding up?" He repeated his question.

"Eh," I replied, "I'm exhausted emotionally, and I'm starting to get really tired."

"Ok," He replied, kissing the top of my head, clearing the hair from my forehead, "Why don't you head up to bed? They'll understand – it's getting late, and you need your rest."

"I should say good night to everyone," I commented and he nodded, taking my hand, "Where's Mike?"

"I sent him to bed about an hour ago," Ezra chuckled, "He came in looking for coffee and I told him to just go to bed, I'd cover for him."

"Oh," I replied as Ezra led me out of the kitchen and out into the living room where the few who remained were still gathered.

"Hey, everyone," Ezra said, "On behalf of the Montgomery family, Byron, Mike, and Aria – I'd like to thank you all for coming. Ella was a really special woman, and will be missed by all. However, it's getting late and it seems it would be best for everyone to start heading home. The family's tired and frazzled from today – so thank you."

As everyone got up and started milling out of the living room towards the door Jason, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer waited with me. They stood around while everyone mumbled their goodbyes and final condolences and waited for the house to empty out. As it was dwindling down just a few people left to say goodbye Wren and Caleb excused themselves to go get the cars started.

"We'll stop by tomorrow after school?" Hanna asked as I gave all four of them hugs were they stood, just going down the line.

"Ah, sure?" I replied as they excused themselves and headed out of the room.

I walked them to the door and shut it behind them, but left it unlocked because dad was still out. I turned around and Ezra was sitting on the couch in the living room. I took a deep breath and walked over and collapsed next to him, putting my head over onto his shoulder. He engulfed me in his arms, and I smiled a little as he trailed kisses all around my cheek.

"I don't think you realize how much I love you, Aria," He whispered in my ear and I turned and kissed him.

"No arguing with that," I replied, as he started to kiss the side of my neck gently, "Will you stay with me until dad gets back?"

"No, I'm just going to leave you here," He teased, giving up on my neck to pretend to check his watch, "I've got lots to do tomorrow – much more important than staying as long as possible with the most beautiful girl in the world – that just happens to be the love of my life."

"Well by all means you should go then," I teased him back as he leaned in and kissed me again, "I love you."

"Well in that case, I'd better stay," He commented, wrapping me up in his arms again, "If someone as beautiful and amazing as you is in love with someone like me, I'd better shape up, be everything you deserve."

"You're adorable," I told him, settling against his chest and closing my eyes.

"Rest, beautiful," He whispered soothingly in my ear, "I'll carry you upstairs when your dad gets in, ok?"

I woke up – sort of – about an hour later. I was vaguely aware that dad was back, and smelt a little like scotch, but was extremely aware that I was in Ezra's arms. True to his word, he carried me upstairs and, despite my father watching us, he tucked me in and kissed me goodnight. He whispered promises to come see me after work, and I just about passed out from exhaustion. That had to be the longest day of my existence, and I couldn't imagine much could top it, in any way.

I woke up in the morning, and took a deep breath – then took my time getting ready, taking a much longer shower than was necessary. Dad had gotten Mike and I out of school for the rest of the week, the next week being vacation – so we would just go back after break. Our teachers had brought our school work and dropped it off after the funeral, so when I got to the kitchen Mike was sitting at the table working on his. I took one look at my pile – it wasn't very big – I assumed our teachers gave us minimal work that they would just pass us on and then actually start teaching us after break. I went out the back door to go sit in the backyard with my journal.

"Hey," Jason said as he walked around the house with a couple of coffees in a cardboard holder, "Thought you might need one of these – yesterday took a lot out of you. You looked like you might pass out and die when we all left, I just wanted to come check on you."

"Thanks," I accepted the coffee, "Ezra stayed with me until dad got back."

"What time was that?"

"I don't know I fell asleep on the couch," I answered truthfully, "How about you? You seemed really torn up yesterday."

"I'm ok," The words were forced, but he smiled and I didn't push him, "So Ezra's a really good guy, nice – treats you well?"

"Like a princess," I told him and he nodded.

"That's what I like to hear," He replied, "So where is he?"

"When he left last night he said he'd be by after work," I replied.

"Right, teaching," Jason said, "How exactly did that work? I'm just curious; you obviously don't actually have to tell me anything."

"No, it's ok," I told him, giving him a weak smile, "We met the morning before I started school, in a pub. We hit it off, and kind of clicked. We made out in the bathroom – anyways… when I got to school come to find out he was my teacher. After that it was a lot of 'we shouldn't' and 'but we can't help it' until finally we just kind of said 'the hell with it'."

"You love him then."

"More than I ever thought I could," I replied and he nodded, "I know I've asked this a lot, but are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I better get going," He got up abruptly, "Wouldn't want to cause any problems. He's probably on his way over now, right?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "And you don't have to run off just because he's coming. He knows we're friends."

"Yeah, but it's easier this way, Aria," He said mysteriously as he started backing up towards the driveway.

I watched until he turned around and then went back to my journal, letting it suck me in until Mike came out of the house. He came and sat next to me, quietly waiting for me to be done and look up. I finished the thought then looked up. He looked much better than he had the day before, but still he was worrying me.

"What's up, Mike?" I asked him, and he shrugged.

"I was kinda hoping you'd give me a lift to the shrink," He replied and I took a deep breath.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Mike," I said, shutting journal with a certain amount of force, "I totally forgot that was today. I'll drive you over right now."

"We don't have to leave for another half hour," He pointed out and I nodded.

"Sorry – I'm not very good at this, am I?"

"You're doing pretty well," Mike replied, "And honestly, you don't have to turn into mom or anything. I'll be inside, I'll come get you when it's time to go?"

"Thanks, Mike," I replied and he nodded as he headed back into the house – just as Ezra came around the side of the house.

"I thought I saw you back here," He smiled my favorite smile as he handed over the bakery bag he was carrying, "Your favorite, I believe."

I smiled as he sat down beside me, and took my journal. He set it on the patio table and watched as I opened the bag, smiling even wider at the lemon square that was tightly wrapped up inside.

"Thank you," I replied, leaning in and kissing his cheek before I actually took it out and started eating.

"You're welcome," He smiled weakly.

"What's wrong?"

"It seems that your – friend – managed to get a hold of my number," He replied, holding out a text message for me to read.

_Good man you are, Ezra – but I'd watch out for that friend of your girl's, Jason. ~A_

"How many have you been getting?" I asked, "I haven't got any since the hospital."

"This is the first one text wise," He told me, "There was another note on my door when I got home – to the same effect."

"Jason was here earlier," I whipped around and looked into the woods as if A would finally slip up and let me catch a glimpse.

"He was?"

"Yeah, he came by to check on me," I explained, and Ezra seemed oddly pleased, "What?"

"Nothing, it just he's acting as a friend again," He mumbled.

"You're much too hard on him, babe," I finished my lemon square and moved to be closer to him, stroking the side of his cheek softly.

"I'm not going to just stand by and watch while someone you see as a friend treats you like crap," He leaned in and kissed my forehead softly.

"You're sweet," I kissed him softly, "In a weird way."

"Aria!" Mike called from the porch, "Time to go."

"Ok, Mike," I called back, "Go start the car, I'll be right up!"

"You're bringing Mike to the Therapist?" He asked and I nodded.

"Want to come along for the ride? Or you can wait here if you want."

"I'll come along," He said, "If that's ok."

"Should be fine," I got up, leading him by the hand up towards the house.

"Can I get you both lunch, afterwards?" He asked and Mike nodded as we caught up with Mike in the driveway.

"Fine with me," Mike hopped into the backseat.

"Mike," My eyes bugged out at him.

"It's fine," Ezra said as he slid into the passenger's seat and I into the drivers' seat, "So, how long's your session?"

"An hour," Mike replied and he nodded.

"Any favorite restaurants?"

"I like Chili's," Mike suggested.

"Done," Ezra smiled through rearview mirror at him.

I drove right up to the curb at Mike's therapist, and let him off. He waved and headed inside, while I drove around the corner and parked in a nearly empty lot.

"So why is A warning you about Jason?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"I just assumed they were trying to feed off my jealousy," He admitted, "Trying to cause problems out of nonissues."

"You're really still jealous?" I asked, "There's really no need for you to be. I am in love with you, Ezra Fitz – so much it's embarrassing."

"Is it sadistic to say that's good to hear?" He asked and I smiled.

"Absolutely not," I replied, as he leaned over the center console and kissed me softly.

"I'm trying," He said, "To not be as jealous."

"Good."

We got out of the car and went wandering around together for a while – it was nice. To have his hand wrapped around mine as we walked around in public, it made me feel loved, that I finally truly was able to belong to him. He smiled over at me and I leaned over, setting my head against his shoulder as we walked. It was nice, knowing that everyone knew and if anyone was going to say something they would have already. If anyone asked – we started dating after, and I first really knew him as my father's colleague. Though I didn't think anyone would bother. We were happy, we were in love, who could really hurt us now? Even A was starting to lose their hold, Ezra was one of the only things they had on me.

We back tracked to the car after a short while, and went to pick up Mike. Then as promised Ezra took us out to lunch before we headed back to the house. We pulled into the driveway and Mike ran off ahead of us, mumbling about wanting to get something done in his room. Ezra and I followed him into the house and caught up with him as we got into the main entryway, as he had stopped.

"Dad?" I tried to take in the scene in front of us.

He was standing, in the middle of the day – barely past noon in the middle of the house with half a bottle of scotch sloshing around in his shaking hand. He didn't look like he had even changed from last night, and I wondered how he had even left for work earlier. I shuddered, scratch that – I wanted to know nothing about how he had driven himself in that condition. Ezra took a deep breath behind me and I knew I had to do something.

"Mike," I prompted, we couldn't just stand here staring at him, "Did you want to finish something in your room?"

"Right," He replied as he started to head off in the general direction of his room.

"If you need any help with anything, just let me know," I called after him, and Ezra and I just looked at each other.

"Whahhhht?" Dad slurred as he attempted to take a step closer to us.

"Dad, how did you get back from work?" I asked, because I had to as we submerged onto him – Ezra took the bottle from him.

"Dahrreeeeee – ah – Drue meh," He managed to say as Ezra set the bottle of scotch on the nearest table to try and help him walk upstairs.

"Can you get him to bed?" I asked in a hushed voice and Ezra nodded as I ran into the kitchen.

I grabbed a couple aspirin from the cabinet and a glass of ice water from the fridge. Then I followed them as they made their slow ascent up the stairs. Ezra got him up to the second floor and dad promptly puked all over the floor, managing to get his own shoes – but thankful not get any on Ezra or I. Stepping over the puke, Ezra continued to help him to his room and managed to get his shoes off of him before he passed out on the bed. He held the shoes like they were contaminated with sludge as I set the glass of water and the aspirin on the nightstand for him. Ezra tried to hand me the shoes as we walked out of the room.

"I can't do puke," I told him as Mike walked out of his room.

"Dad ok?"

"He's sleeping it off, hopefully," I told him and he nodded.

"Here, Mike," Ezra handed him the shoes instead, "If you clean these up, I'll get the floor over by the stairs."

"Deal," He replied, heading into the bathroom.

Once Ezra was done cleaning up, he hopped into the shower and I grabbed jeans from dad's room and a t-shirt of Ezra's that I had in my room for him to wear once he was out. I threw the clothes he had been wearing into the wash. Then, I went downstairs, where Mike had relocated with his laptop as to avoid the smell. I had the windows open in an attempt to air out the smell, but it wasn't all that effective. The smell of several different alcohols and a good amount of stomach acid were not easily expunged from an area.

"I wonder if Mom can see us now," Mike said as I landed in the kitchen.

"Of course she can," I told him, "Dad'll be ok."

"How are you so sure?"

"I'm not," I confessed as Ezra appeared in the kitchen and went for a glass of water, "But I have hope."

Just as I said the words my phone vibrated in my pocket, and I knew exactly who it was from. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and looked at the screen just long enough to read:

_Daddy doesn't seem to be doing all that well, hope you're keeping an eye on Jason for me too. ~A_


	12. Dealing

A/N: Hello, all – glad to see you're still reading!

Chapter Twelve:

Aria.

"Can you guys be quiet?" Caleb whispered agitatedly – shooting a glance over at Hanna, Emily, and I.

We were all at Hanna's house, because Caleb was trying to figure out a way to see who was in the car that crashed into mom's. I was sitting across the room with Hanna and Emily whilst Spencer was trying to help Caleb. They had decided for me that I wasn't going to be anywhere near the laptop that was repeatedly showing the crash. However, from what I had gathered they weren't even playing that part – and their best approach to getting a close enough shot for an ID was a shot from way up the road near an old gas station that had happened to have a camera.

"How's Ezra?" Hanna was trying to keep my mind off of what was going on on the other side of the room.

"He's fine," I said, "He and dad are actually getting along fairly well. And he's trying so hard to be accepting of Jason too."

"Oh, that's great," Emily said, "Finally."

"How is your dad?"

"Fine," I said, without missing a beat.

I didn't know why I hadn't told anyone about dad, or the fact that he hadn't been sober for longer than a few hours since the funeral. Ezra had been driving him to work, I was grateful, but I was worried. What if Ezra finally just decided that dealing with my family wasn't worth it? If dealing with me was too much for him, and he just decided I wasn't worth it. He hadn't complained at all, or anything I was just worried. I didn't want him to bottle anything up that he could be mad at me later for. I was half wondering, have worrying how dad's classes were going – he hadn't been exactly plastered going to work – but a little tipsy at least.

"I have to go pick up Mike," I announced, it was true – but it was also a way to get away from everyone, "Let me know if Caleb finds anything?"

"Of course," Hanna said as I grabbed my purse and keys and headed out the door.

I got in my car and realized that I didn't have to get Mike right away, his practice wasn't even over yet. It was my idea, that Mike trying picking up a sport again, and dad – while he was relatively not too intoxicated agreed – and called up his old coach. The coach was more than willing to let him rejoin the team, especially if it would help him. I wanted to check on Jason, we had talked, well texted, a little bit – but other than that I hadn't really seen him since A had warned me to look out for him. I was sort of cautious, why was A concerned about him?

"What're you doing here?" Jason smiled, he was out in the front yard when I pulled into the driveway.

"I have to pick up Mike from practice in a few minutes," I told him, "I wanted to come check in on you."

"How've you been?" He asked as we walked around the house towards the backyard, "Sorry, I haven't come by the house in a while – I've been busy – a couple of the kids I've been helping managed to get themselves into a little trouble."

"It's fine," I excused him without a second thought, "Mike he missed having you around I think."

"He's got Ezra, too. No?" Jason checked and I nodded, "And he's back in sports – which is an excellent sign."

"Yeah, the sports thing was my idea," I said, "And yes, Ezra's now around a lot, but…. He still misses you."

"Is there a slight possibility that you miss me too?"

"Maybe a little bit," I admitted and he chuckled.

"I could come around more often again."

"Just let me know when you're coming," I qualified smoothly – so I could at least hide dad.

"Ok," He replied as we started to walk back towards the front yard, "So how's ole' Ezra?"

"You realize he's younger than you are, right?" I teased back.

"Barely – if he is at all. It's all in the mind anyways, guy acts like he's forty," Jason cracked a smile, "So anyways, how is he?"

"He's great – he's been helping me out a lot," I replied casually as my alarm on my phone went off, telling me it was time to go pick up Mike, "I have to get Mike – and figure out what's for dinner."

"Are you ok, Aria?" He seemed concerned, "You can let people help you, you know? Plenty of people are willing to help. You won't be able to do everything you've been doing once you're back at school."

"That's not for a couple weeks," I joked, "I have my make up work done already even. So, don't worry about me, please."

"I'm going to anyways," He insisted, and I rolled my eyes, slipping into my car.

"I'll be fine."

"Thanks for coming to visit."

"No problem."

I went over to the field where practice was, and they were still on the field. I parked and walked out to lean on the fence and watch for a little bit. I was there for all of a few minutes before someone came up next to me and leaned on it too – it was Ezra.

"Communication mix up?" He chuckled and kissed the side of my head, "I thought I was picking Mike up."

"I told you last night I could get him," I reminded him, "Where's dad?"

"I already dropped him off at home."

"Car keys?" I asked, I was terrified he'd try to drive somewhere by himself.

"Right here," He replied, dropping Dad's key to his car into the palm of my hand.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem," He replied, "Did you have something planned for dinner, because I could cook – tonight."

"I was going to heat up one of the casseroles people have been dropping off," I told him, "I figured we'd have one of those tonight, just to eat it rather than just let them collect freezer burn."

"Sounds good."

"How's dad today?"

"Average."

"He should be coming out of that soon – right?"

"Dunno," He told me the truth, at least.

"Well if you've got Mike, I think I'll head home and get dinner ready."

He nodded.

"That'd be fine."

"What's up?" Mike asked as he walked over, still in his equipment.

"Ezra's going to wait for you," I told him, "I'm gonna go know and throw one of the casseroles in the oven."

"Ok," Mike replied, then run off with his teammates towards the locker room.

"When did we become an old married couple?" I asked Ezra and he chuckled.

"C'mere," He pulled me in and kissed me, passionately, "How many old married couples kiss like that?"

"I can't imagine many," I replied, slightly breathless.

"Well then we're lucky," He smiled as he kissed my forehead.

I smiled, then headed back to the car. I walked into the house about ten minutes later to find dad passed out on the couch. I threw one of the throw blankets over him and took the empty scotch glass from the coffee table to bring it into the kitchen to the dishwasher. I walked into the kitchen doorway, and saw a distinct and all too familiar shadow running out the back door of the kitchen. Petrified, I couldn't scream. I locked the door. At least I knew A wasn't in the house.

I couldn't think about it now, A, in the house with dad passed out on the couch. I shivered, it had been a while since A had made a house call, to me at least. They were usually at Spencer's or one of the other girls' houses – or Ezra's. A had just broken into Ezra's apartment a couple weeks ago. I still couldn't understand what the thought process had been there, but I was sure I'd eventually find out.

I took a deep breath, Mike did not need to be spooked at all, and if he got home and I was a pile of tears it would not be good. I took another deep breath and walked over to the fridge. I opened up the freezer and grabbed the top casserole of the many that filled the freezer. I pulled it down and noticed a little piece of paper attached to it.

Holding it together Aria? Not if I have anything to do with it. Call Caleb off. ~A

I dropped it instantly right onto the kitchen floor. The dish it was in was shattered and whatever kind of casserole A had seen fit to cook us was splattered everywhere. I just stared down at it for I don't even know how long, mortified, with A's little note right in the middle of the destroyed casserole. It was face up, so I could still read it, and I swore it was mocking me – but I couldn't move. I sank to the floor and just sat by the destroyed casserole, leaning against the cabinets behind me. I could feel tears starting to fall – but I couldn't bring myself to care. Why did A feel the need to terrorize us like this? He/she/they/it had won, by now they must know that.

"Aria?" I could finally hear Ezra calling for me, "Aria?"

"Where is she?" Mike asked – they were in the family room.

"I'll find her, you go clean up," I heard Ezra reply, and then heard Mike heading up the stairs, "Aria?"

"In here," I managed to croak out and I heard him coming right away.

"Is everything ok – whoa," He broke off when he saw the mess all around me, falling to his knees next to me, "Are you hurt?"

"No," I answered as he tucked my hair behind my ear.

"What's the matter?" He asked, wiping an extra tear from my cheek as I leaned over and grabbed the note that was taped to the saran-wrap that had been over the casserole dish, "Seriously?"

"Yup," I moped and he kissed the side of my head as he read the note.

"What do you have Caleb doing?"

"I don't have him doing anything," I replied, "The car that hit mom's was stolen, he stole the tapes from a couple security cameras near the accident – he's been trying to see who's driving. I have to text Hanna, tell him to stop."

"If Caleb has a chance of seeing who it was…"

"A was in the house, while dad was passed out on the couch," I said, "I can't lose another parent, Ezra. They'll send Mike and I away to an aunt's or something – or our grandparents. I'm terrified as it is that someone's going to find out about dad's – situation. I'll just text Hanna and this will all be done."

"Aria," Ezra seemed to be trying to reason with me, "This A, doesn't seem to want this to stop. We're going to have to find out who it is if we ever want it to stop."

"Ezra, my dad," I told him, "You? Mike? What if A decides to target you guys, or Caleb, like they did with mom? No one else should die in this."

"Ok," He breathed, kissing the side of my head sweetly.

I pulled out my cell phone, and texted Hanna:

Tell Caleb to stop working on the tapes, it doesn't matter. Mom's gone, it doesn't really matter anymore who drove the car.

"I should clean this up," I pulled myself together as Ezra helped me back up onto my feet.

"I've got it," He replied heading straight to the closet for the towels.

I went to the freezer to grab a different meal. Hanna's mom had sent over American Chop Suey, and that seemed really good at the moment to me, it was quick to heat up, and it was comfort food. Plus, it wasn't like she had actually cooked it, she had bought it from the grocery store or something. I threw it in the oven to heat up while Ezra picked up the casserole from the floor.

"Hmmm, tuna," He joked as he finished off, "A likes it, apparently?"

"They knew we wouldn't eat it," I replied.

"For good reason," He pulled a raw piece of chicken from the middle of the tuna.

"That's disgusting," I was starting to feel nauseous.

I took the bag with the broken glass to throw it in the trash and Ezra threw the 'food' into a plastic bag before it joined the glass. Then I went into the bathroom to wash my face and Ezra followed observationally, standing in the doorway while I used a face cloth to get the sticky tears off of my face.

"How did you know A was here while your dad was passed out?" He asked, "They could've dropped it off any time – and obviously don't care about breaking and entering."

"I saw A leave," I told him, "I walked into the kitchen just as the back door slammed."

"Oh my God," He breathed.

"That's not my closest call with A," I told him, "And honestly, if they wanted me dead—"

"Can we not talk about this?" I could tell he was still really uncomfortable with the whole idea of this unknown person terrorizing us.

"Of course," I replied as he started to set the table and I went over to check on the food.

We finished getting ready for dinner in silence, and I was just taking the American Chop Suey out of the oven all heated up. Mike came into the kitchen looking exhausted, like he used to when he had played lacrosse before, so I took it as a good sign that he sat down and looked as if he was going to pass out then and there. I looked to Ezra and he nodded as he headed out to the living room to try and wake dad up. We had fallen into a routine, the four of us. Or rather the three of us, dad was more like the child, and it was hard for Mike and I but we were doing it. I was just terrified that dad wouldn't recover.

"Hey kids," He said somewhat grouchily as Ezra helped him to the table, "I've got it, Ezra. I'm not a child."

"Sorry, sir," Ezra said politely as he flew away from him and across the room.

"I think it's about time you kids went back to school," Dad continued his grouchy rant.

"Dad, it's a break," Mike said, "School's off for a week now."

"Whose bright idea was it for you guys to take time off?"

"Yours, and our therapists," Mike informed him.

"Well therapists don't know shit, Mike," He grumbled as he dug in, almost like an animal, "In fact, I'm going to stop your sessions. That way Aria doesn't have to drive you around so much either."

"Dad," Mike looked panicked, "Aria?"

He was looking to me for help.

"Dad," I said, "If it's helping Mike, then we should go ahead with them. I don't mind driving him, at all it's fine."

"Whatever."

I was embarrassed, actually embarrassed by my father's behavior. I didn't want Ezra to be here, I didn't want him to see this. This was why hadn't told anyone – well other than the whole Mike and I getting taken away thing – that they would know how mom's death had destroyed our family. It wasn't fair – that was why I had been so hell bent on keeping things as normal as possible for Mike. There was no reason that A should be able to have this amount of control over his life, or mine for that matter.

"You can go home," I told Ezra later once he had finished helping me clean up, "And thanks for helping out so much."

"I don't mind," He kissed my forehead, "Not at all. And, I could stick around a bit, if you were still worried about…"

"I'm fine, Ezra," I told him, "I can deal with it."

"Ok, I'll head out," He smiled slightly, "Is everything ok?"

Yes, everything's peachy.

"Just a rough day," I said and he nodded, "Thought I might try to fit in some alone time."

"Ok, call me if you need me?" He checked, he was still worried – but he was respecting what I wanted.

"Yeah, and I can get the last few dishes by myself," I told him and he nodded – heading out.

I was just finishing up with the dishes when dad stumbled in.

"Oh, hey dad," I dried my hands as I turned to see him, "I thought you went to bed."

"Well you were wrong," He replied, "Just a little scotch to help me sleep."

Enough was enough.

"Dad, I think you've had enough," I said and suddenly, I was scared.

He had turned to look at me, and I could see fire in his pupils. Clearly he thought I had overstepped my bounds – by a few football fields or something. Then, out of no where I felt his hand make contact with the side of my face – it burned.

"You ungrateful little bitch," He slurred as I stumbled back and he kicked my shin so I fell, "If I want a drink, I'll have a drink. I'm the adult!"

With that he kicked me in my side and stormed out of the kitchen.


	13. Boiling

A/N: Hello all, I've made an attempt to a get a faster update…. And I love this story and you guys too so…. Read. Enjoy. Review. : )

Chapter Thirteen:

Ezra.

Aria was still sleeping when I picked Byron up for work, which I thought was a little bit odd. Usually she was up, both to help Byron and to see me before we left for work. I wanted to go check on her, but Byron assured me that she was just tired, that she had been exhausted and not to wake her – I took his - slightly more sober than usual - word for it. We drove in, and I dropped Byron off right outside the building before going to my own parking space.

Something in my gut told me that I should call Aria. I wasn't sure why it was doing so, but I knew I had to. However, I didn't want to wake her, I believed Byron when he said she was exhausted, she had been last night before I left. Not to mention the fact that she had looked like she was about to pass out standing up all week. It was good that she was finally getting some sleep, and I would call her after my morning classes, as I didn't have any afternoon ones. I would see if she wanted to come by my apartment for a while, so we could have some alone time – we hadn't in a while. I could drop Byron off and pick her up.

I walked into my office and answered a few of my students' emails, one of my classes was working on a paper, which of course meant that I got about a million emails repeating the same six questions. I replied to them all, then headed to my first class. On the way to which, I passed Byron's office, and noticed him on his office couch with a bottle of scotch that looked like it had been a Christmas present.

"Sir," I said politely as I popped my head in the door, "Don't you have a class now?"

He checked his watch.

"Look at that I do," He replied managing to get himself up and head out of his office.

I took a deep breath, then followed him down the hall towards where my class was. I couldn't wait for classes to be over for the day, the idea of spending alone time with Aria later just was seem more and more appetizing to me. I found myself looking forward to it even more as I walked into my second class – I reminded myself I hadn't even suggested the idea to her yet, that she might have other plans. I prayed she didn't/

"Hey Ezra," She answered my call.

"Hello, beautiful," I smiled almost involuntarily as I loaded up what I needed for the night.

"Hey," She sounded off.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine." There was something off about that too.

"So, did you happen to have any plans for this afternoon and evening?"

"Not really."

"Well, I was wondering if when I dropped your dad off maybe we could head over to my apartment, have some alone time?"

"That sounds great," She replied, I was surprised – she really hadn't seemed like she was in the mood.

"Ok, well I'm heading towards your dad's office now," I replied, "Be there in about twenty minutes."

"Ok."

"Love you."

"Love you."

"Sir," I knocked on Byron's office door, where he was meeting with a student, "Oh, sorry."

"It's quite alright," Byron replied.

He motioned for me to wait for him on the couch, and I did. The student he was meeting with was blond, leggy, and looked pretty much like a Barbie doll. Though, after what little observation I had while waiting for him – I thought maybe the doll might have had a slightly higher IQ. She kept giggling at just about everything he said, and seemed to find it cute that he couldn't quite find the right words to say. Though, judging by the amount of alcohol I assumed he had in his blood stream by now, I was just surprised he was talking.

"Thanks, Professor Montgomery," She said in a high pitched nasal voice, "I totally get it now."

I couldn't understand how that could have been, as I didn't think I even understood what he had been trying to explain.

"Oh, Candy, you can call me Byron," He replied and I thought I was going to choke him.

Ella? He did remember that he just lost his wife, right?

"Ok," She smiled air-headedly, "And I'm like so sorry about what happened to your wife."

"Ah, aren't we all."

I couldn't believe I was witnessing this, I tried to wipe any evidence of any sort of reaction from my face as she left. I waited while Byron was packing up for the day, though we both knew he wouldn't be getting any sort of work done once he was home, all the while trying to figure out what to do. Do I tell Aria about that little scene? What would that do, if anything? I decided not to tell her, not just yet – there was no need for Byron to upset her like this more than he had already. I wished so much, again, for the millionth time since the beginning of this mess that I could just flip a switch and make everything better for her.

"Got everything?" I asked politely and he grumbled something that sounded affirmative and we headed out.

We headed out to my car and loaded in. We were late, compared to the time table I had given Aria, and I felt awful. She had sounded so off on the phone, I wanted to be there for her – but obviously I had had to wait for Byron. I pulled into the driveway and didn't even get out of the car before Aria was heading out with a bag over her shoulder.

"Aria and I were thinking we'd go out for a while," I told Byron as he got out of the car.

"Have fun," His mood had swung from the grump that had been in his office.

"Baby," Aria smiled as I got out of the car to greet her – Byron slipped right into the house.

"Hey," I said as she snuggled up right into my arms, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," She lied into my shirt – but I chose to let it go for the moment.

"Let's go," I said, kissing her forehead.

I drove her right across town to where my apartment was. We headed up, and she insisted on holding my hand the whole way to the door. I assumed it was just because she liked that we could now hold hands in public. When we got inside, she excused herself to go to the bathroom while I went over and sat down on the couch to wait for her, turning the TV on as I tried to relax.

She came out and sat with me, laying her head down on my chest and a very gently wrapped my arms around to hold her. I kissed the top of her head and she snuggled in against me as we watched TV. I smiled as I ran my hand down her side, but it disappeared as she quivered and made a quick involuntary expression of pain.

"Ow!"

"I'm sorry," I apologized, kissing her temple as she calmed down again, "What's the matter?"

"It's not your fault," She replied, but what she said next made me roll my eyes, "Don't worry about it."

"Aria," I couldn't understand why she was acting this way, "Please, just tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing," She lied again, and leaned up and kissed my cheek sweetly.

"Please stop lying to me," I said seriously as she laid her hand gently on my chest, "I love you, Aria. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

"I can't," she replied and I could see the red flags popping up like a minefield.

"Aria," I breathed as I ran my hand down her jean covered leg, she squirmed again.

I swallowed, made brief eye contact, and then lifted up the side of her shirt to see her side. I only had to pull it up about halfway up her side before I saw the problem. She had a bruise ran the entire length from the bottom of her ribcage down to her hip, it was all different colors. Primarily it was a shocking purple, but there was a tiny bit of yellow, a little bit of green. It looked awful, like someone had whacked her with a baseball bat. Well that explained why she wasn't wearing a pair of her usual skinny jeans. I rolled up her pant leg and found a similar, but slightly smaller one on her shin.

"Who the hell did this?" I asked her, I could tell by her expression I was scaring her – but I didn't care.

I could feel my blood boiling and all I wanted was whoever did this to her's head. Who would ever possibly do this to Aria? My Aria? Honestly, there was no excuse for anyone to treat her this way, though I was still racking my brain as to who could've done it. With all she had been through in the past month, for this to just be layered on top of it. I shuddered, I leaned faintly forward and kissed the bruise on her side ever so gently.

"Ezra," I heard her calling to me, but was still in my own little angry-town-burner world – I would get whoever did this, "Babe, you're scaring me."

"Sorry," I replied, reaching up and clearing the hair from her face, "How did this happen?"

"Ezra I can't-"

"Aria, please just tell me who it was," I kissed her cheek.

She burrowed her head into my shoulder as I rolled her pant leg back down. Then, I took her very carefully into my arms and held her close, lounging on the couch. I kissed her forehead as she shifted her head to lay it over my heart.

"Please?" I didn't bother repeating the question as I ran my hand soothingly around her back.

"What're you going to do, Babe?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to do – instinct is to kill them, but that would be messy. Plus we're kind of flying on a pass right now, and drawing attention to us probably wouldn't be a good idea," I replied truthfully, "But, I will make damn sure that this never happens again."

"Oh, Babe," She mumbled, stroking the side of my face adoringly.

"Wait a second, when did this happen?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"When did it happen, Aria?" I asked her, "Because I saw you last night, and was there pretty late. You said you were going to bed – unless you were lying and I didn't catch it, which I usually do – it happened this morning? But they wouldn't be yellow and green yet…Aria."

"Mmhmmm?" 

"It had to be last night, after I left."

"I guess," she replied non commitily, "Can you just drop it, Ez?"

"No," I replied as realization dropped on me like a grand piano, "It was Byron – it has to be. He's been out of control lately…"

"Ezra…"

"Was it your father?" I asked, "Mike was already in bed when I left, and he wouldn't anyways…"

"Yes," I told him, "It was dad."

"I'll kill him," I said it even though I knew I couldn't – and she knew it too.

She shook her head.

"You know you can't," She said and I swallowed hard – accepting what she was saying to me.

"But I can make sure that this, it'll never happen again," I told her, kissing her softly, "I may not be able to stop anything else that's going on right now – but this I can stop. I will."

"It's only happened once, Ez," She reminded me and I narrowed my gaze at her.

"Aria, your father beat you," I said, "It doesn't have to happen twice for me to step in and stop it."

"Don't mention anything to him," She was terrified, "He probably doesn't even remember."

"That doesn't negate the fact that you're bruised," I replied.

"If he knows you know he might do something…"

"Do what?" I asked, "And how wouldn't I know? How wouldn't I have found out? You're bruises are pretty impressive I don't think Mr. Magoo would have missed them."

"What?"

"It's an old cartoon," I replied quickly, "It was about this old blind guy – that's not the point."

"You totally just aged yourself so bad," She was trying to get me off the subject, and I just looked at her, "Ez, there's not much we can do here. We can tell the police, who'll most likely just send me to my Aunt's or my Grandparents' – both of whom live like an hour away and would never approve of you. Do you really want to start over from square one?"

"Aria, you can't stay just to be with me, especially if this becomes habit."

"Ezra," She breathed, "It wouldn't just be for you. Mike's just coming back around after how much therapy? I don't want to switch high schools for senior year, and Dad needs me too. Also, Spence? Emily? Hanna? I can't leave them..."

"What? Your dad? He's on the list for a reason to stay?"

"Ezra, he's what I have. Him, and Mike," she responded, "And Ezra - I'm not six and my dad's hitting me. I'm seventeen and I'm a big girl. It's happened once, if it happens again that's bad – but I'm eighteen and going off to school soon anyways."

"I hate this," I breathed as she snuggled into my chest.

"Don't think you're the only one."

"Sorry, I just-" I stopped, "I am so in love with you, Aria. I hate all of this – I just want everything to be ok."

"Hey, me too," She mumbled as she kissed my cheek.

"Though I might argue that I love you more."

"I told you not to lie to me anymore," I teased her and she smiled.

"I won't," She replied, "Promise."

"Seriously?"

"I promise," She replied, "But, I have to make you promise that you won't take action on anything or tell anyone anything unless it's discussed and you have to understand that it's my life. You may take up a ridiculous large percent of my life –"

"I understand," I told her, pressing my forehead into her's, "And I promise."

"Thank you."

"You're so beautiful," I mumbled into her hair as I pulled her tight, whilst still being careful of her side, "I should have stayed. I knew I should've stayed."

"Ezra, you couldn't have known," she replied, leaning up and kissing my cheek, "I don't like you beating yourself up about it, it only makes me feel worse."

"I'm sorry," I leaned in and kissed her softly.

"Let's stop talking about this, ok?"

"Ok."


	14. Thin Ice

A/N: Wow, it's been a while – huh guys? Sorry, been a little busy… and in need to sleep. Hope you guys all enjoy. :)

Chapter Fourteen:

Aria.

I was cuddling with Ezra on the couch, my head on his chest and his arms around me tight. He had very carefully positioned his arms so that they were avoiding my bruises, and his chin was resting sweetly on the top of my head. I couldn't help but smile, lying there in his arms as we watched the movie on TV. I was so comfortable, I never wanted to move. However, it was getting late and Ezra would eventually have to take me home.

"I don't want to bring you home," He breathed within a few seconds of me thinking along the same lines.

"I don't want to go home," I replied, cuddling up against his chest.

"Well that settles that," He reached for his phone out of his pocket and dialed – I assumed – dad, "Hey, Byron."

"Hye Ezrha," I was close enough to the phone to be able to hear dad slur.

"Hey, listen – Aria and I were watching a movie, and she completely passed out on the couch," He said and I sat bolt upright, looking at him – surprised, "Yeah, She's been really stressed out lately, I'd rather not wake her – but of course if you want her home I will. Otherwise, I could drop her off tomorrow morning when I come to pick you up."

There was a pause in which I gave him a surprised look, he shrugged, smiling mischievously.

"Thank you, sir," Ezra said and I had to clap a hand over my mouth so dad wouldn't be able to hear – he was probably too drunk to be aware of whether I was home or not, "Yes sir."

"Seriously?" I asked as he hung up and slipped his phone onto the coffee table.

"Done," He replied, sitting up and taking me into his arms, kissing me softly, "You are free to stay and will be back tomorrow morning with plenty of time to do whatever you have planned."

"How much of this had to do with you wanting me to spend the night?" I asked, "And how much of it had to do with not wanting to drop me off at home?"

"I'm killing two birds with one stone," He admitted, shrugging.

"So what do you wanna do?" I asked, leaning in and kissing him once more for good measure.

"Do you wanna go out?"

"Might be fun for a little while – odds are dad's passed out on the couch again already."

"A date?" He asked, his charming smile made my heart pound just that much harder.

"Yes," I smiled and he grinned as he got us up from the couch and headed towards the closet to where he could grab his jacket.

He grabbed my sweatshirt from where I had thrown it and we headed out the door. Just as we hit the hallway outside of his apartment, my cell phone went off in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked down at it quickly:

_How quickly can you get over here? ~Hanna_

"Hold on," I told Ezra as I quickly texted her back.

_Can I bring Ezra with me? If so I'll be right there._

"What's up?" Ezra asked, looking extraordinarily weary of my cell phone.

"It's just Hanna," I qualified and he looked relieved as my phone went off again.

_Sure. I can only assume he'd want to be. ~Hanna_

"She wants to know if we can stop by," I said and he looked surprised, with all the excitement from actually going out and doing something fading from his face, "I don't know what she wants – but hopefully it won't take too long."

"That's fine," He replied, even though I knew he would so much rather just go play pool or something.

"I'm sorry," I pouted as he took my hand and we headed to his car.

"It's really fine," He insisted, "Why does Hanna want us?"

"I haven't the slightest," I squeezed his hand, "But I love you."

He smirked, I loved that little smirk, it turned my stomach inside out and made it do backflips. I wondered if he knew how fantastically sexy it looked draped across his face. I couldn't stop looking over at him as he drove over to Hanna's – under my directions. Only when we got there did I realize it was a party, not really, just everyone's cars were there. Emily and Spencer's cars were in the driveway, and I could only imagine who was inside. From what I could tell Hanna's mom was not.

I didn't bother knocking on the door as we came up to it, and we walked straight into the house. Wren was sitting in the entry way somewhat dressed up and looked as though he was simply waiting there.

"You guys were headed out too?" Ezra paused to check and Wren nodded.

"Guys get in here!" Spencer called from the kitchen, but when Wren made to join us but she stopped him, "Not you Wren, sorry."

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Ezra said as he followed me into the kitchen where everyone else was huddled around Caleb's laptop.

My stomach dropped.

"This better not be what I think it is," I announced and they all kind of quivered.

I was so mad I could have pounded each of them in turn. I turned on my heel and went to stamp out but Ezra stopped me, holding me softly in his arms – but preventing me from leaving.

"Aria."

"Please don't tell me you had anything to do with this," I glared up at him and he gave me a completely innocent look.

"I didn't. I didn't know until you did," He replied, "Believe me, after what you said the other night I would have stopped them. But, they didn't stop and nothing's happened because of it. I think we should just watch it – maybe Caleb's found something."

"I can't believe you," I Glared at him, then turned around to address the rest of the group, "I can't believe any of you! I told you all I did not want to know. I don't want to know who is driving that car! And it's not so much to do with A, and the fact that they're threatening everything I have – though that would be enough. It's more to do with the fact that I just don't want to know. Right now, who ever was driving that car is a faceless monster, not any sort of face I've seen around town. I'm content. I don't want to know the face. Besides, it was Noel who was drugging mom anyways."

"Ok, we can understand that, but Aria," Spencer said, "This is our chance to get A. To get another clue as to what's going on here."

"Everything's just another clue," I almost exploded with frustration, dodging Ezra's arm, "Don't you guys get it? We'll always be at least a few steps behind knowing this isn't going to help us at all."

"Done," Caleb said, he had been working the whole time I was ranting.

I lunged at the laptop, but Ezra grabbed me from behind to stop me. I wrestled myself out of his grasp and stormed out of the kitchen.

"I don't want to know which little helper was driving the car," I called over my shoulder, "So, please don't fucking tell me."

My phone went off and I glanced down at it quickly:

_My my what a good little liar. We're going to have some fun together, Aria. ~A._

I slammed the front door behind me and ran out into the front yard. Within seconds I felt hands on my shoulders – whipped around and saw Wren. He had the most apologetic look on his face and I felt bad for the expression on my face. I had thought he was going to be Ezra, who's face I was about to rip off and let roll down the street – except not really because that was what I was trying to prevent – not that anyone cared. Anyways, my expression mirrored my mood.

"Ezra stayed?" I was suddenly much softer.

"He did," Wren replied, "And it makes sense, he wants to make things better for you-"

"How do you know what's going on?"

"I swear you and you and your friends think I'm a complete moron," He replied, "I've been sulking around long enough to piece together what's going on. Listen, Ezra just wants to protect you. He loves you, more than anything and…"

"He wants to protect me? From what, from A?" I asked, "Well he's doing the exact opposite right now. A doesn't want anyone to know who was in the car, and I could really care less it's not like the curiosity is killing me or anything. Mom's gone, whether I know who was driving or not. And it's not like it was the car accident that killed her anyways."

"It wasn't?" Wren looked genuinely curious now.

"Someone poisoned her once she was in the coma," I said, "Slipping her some sort of organic poison on A's orders."

"When did you find that out?" Wren asked.

"The morning she started going into organ failure," I replied, "A told me as soon as there was nothing to be done about it anymore."

"I can't believe I didn't see that," He replied and I rolled my eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Don't beat yourself up, Wren," I told him, "I didn't know you were A savvy, and what could it have possibly done?"

"Nothing," Wren replied, "But seeing as I was her physician –"

"Aria," Ezra called as he came running out of the house.

"I don't want to talk to you," I told him as he came over, and Wren slowly backed away.

"Aria," a defeated weak voice escaped his lips.

His arms had collapsed to his sides and his shoulders destroyed. I could see the pain in his face. He knew who had hit mom, when he walked out of the door but now he knew that it didn't matter. I sort of wished that he had managed to grasp that one before he watched the video with everyone else. He was such an intelligent person, how could he possibly be that dumb sometimes?

"I'm sorry," a pitiful version of Ezra's voice squeaked.

"No, you're not," I replied out of anger, I knew he truly was – but that wasn't good enough, "And if you really are that's not good enough. I asked you not to, Ezra. You can't just do something like that, that I've clearly said is not ok and then just apologize afterwards. It's not fair. It's not fair because I love you, and as soon as you get that defeated little apologetic look on your face I can't help but want to forgive you. It's not fair. What happened to not taking action without talking to me first?"

"Aria, that wasn't action," He replied as the initial rage I had seen when he'd come out the front door returned, "Action is what I'm going to do now."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," He replied, "But I don't think I can keep my promise."

"I don't wanna know," I told him, "I don't wanna know who it was, Ezra. Something just keeps telling me not to find out. I feel like it'll be worse. I understand now, thanks to Wren, that that not taking any action won't be easy, and I'm retracting the promise. It's not fair to bring you into something like this and not allow you to interfere. You love me, and you want to help. But for the love of God, Ezra, just don't do anything stupid. And, can't deliberately – I need to be able to trust you, Ez. I need that. Otherwise, we won't work."

"Ok," He swallowed and blinked innocently, "I promise, you can trust me, Aria."

He opened up his arms and I walked right into them, mentally kicking myself while I did. While I realized that not much could be fixed or even accomplished with me staying mad at him. However, I was always mad at myself for not being able to be for any sort of extended period of time. It was frustrating to me for some reason.

"Do you still want to go out?" He asked, "Or do you just want to head back to my apartment?"

"I want to go home," I said blatantly, "But I guess we should just head back to the apartment."

"Ok," He breathed as my phone vibrated in my pocket and we got into the car.

_Aria, I need to see you. Are you busy? ~Jason._

_A little bit tonight. Can I see you tomorrow?_

_Sure. Can you come over in the morning?~Jason._

_I'll be there bright and early._

"Who is that?"

"It's nothing," I told him, "Jason – he just wanted to talk. I told him I would tomorrow – I'm too tired now."

"Oh," Ezra didn't seem all too pleased that I was talking to Jason, but really what else was new?

The next morning after Ezra dropped me off and took dad to work, I showered quickly, then woke Mike up. I made him breakfast while he got ready for practice – during vacation week they had practice in the morning to keep them in shape. I put his breakfast down on the table just as he came downstairs all dressed and with his lacrosse stuff over his shoulder. He ate, and then I drove him to practice – stopping on the way back to see Jason. Where, I pulled into the driveway and he was hacking away at something with an axe in the front yard.

"What's up?" I asked as I crossed the yard and headed over to where he was.

"I'm sorry," He replied, "It was stupid of me to text you last night. I was having a low moment."

"No, it's fine," I told him, because it really was, "Relax, what was bothering you?"

"Just a lot of the stuff that's been happening around here lately," He replied, putting the axe down, wiping the sweat off his forehead and turning to actually look at me for the first time since I arrived, "Aria? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I had a fight with Ezra," I said then somewhat smudged the truth, "And the whole family thing."

"Family can be such a drag," Jason teased, smiling kindly – a way that gave me no choice but to smile too, "What happened with Ezra?"

"He just – he's been amazing," I qualified, "He's a better guy than I could have ever thought of myself with. He's perfect, except I don't think he listens to me sometimes. Like I'll say something and he'll just completely disregard it. And I realize I'm being stupid sometimes but he should take into consideration what I want, right?"

"He should," Jason said simply, shrugging, "I feel like there's more to this story though."

I took a deep breath.

"Caleb stole some footage from security cameras from the school and from the little store up the street," I told Jason, "To try and see who was driving the car that hit mom's. Last night they called Ezra and I over to Hanna's because they figured it out – which I didn't want them to do. I don't want to know who was driving – it doesn't matter. I know who killed mom, and the driver really had very little to do with it. But Ezra stayed and watched the video."

"So do they all know?" Jason asked casually.

"I think so," I replied and Jason nodded, "It really doesn't matter to me though, at all. I don't ever want to know."

"That's very Zen of you," He replied after a deep breath, "I'd want to know."

"It won't change anything," I pointed out, "And it won't fix anything."

"That's true."

"Thank-you, finally someone agrees with me."

"I don't agree with you," he replied, "I just understand where you're coming from. I think you should know who it is, but it's up to you."

"It is up to me," I repeated.

"So what's on the docket for today, miss soccer mom?" Jason teased.

"Miss lacrosse mom," I corrected good naturedly, "I have to pick Jason up at noon. Then we're meeting Ezra for lunch."

"Does Ezra know you're here?"

"No," I replied, "I didn't want to add that to the fight."

"Probably a good decision."

"Jason, have you gotten any notes like the one you got the day after Ali disappeared?"

"A few here and there."


	15. A Breath

A/N: Ok, so here's some cute Ezria before a slightly more action packed chapter. Sorry for the wait…Hope you all like it [Very short, apologies… but I've got to get the ball rolling on this story sooner rather than later.]

Chapter Fifteen:

Aria.

I was lying, exhausted on my bed later on in the afternoon. Mike was in his room studying, and dad was passed out in his own bed. I was really getting sick of it, the whole routine. Mike, I loved taking care of, but dad? He was the one supposed to be taking care of us, right? I rolled up my shirt a little ways to see the bruise, it was almost worse than the day before. I had my journal next to me, but all I could summon the energy to do was just stare up at my ceiling. I rolled my shirt back down and then continued to just stare at the ceiling while I placed my journal back on my table.

"Good evening," I heard a few minutes later and looked over at the door.

Ezra was standing in the doorway, leaning there in a white button up and jeans. I could see the beginnings of his chest and the way he was leaning there, I wanted to pounce on him. I wanted him in my arms, and I wanted him to hold me.

"Hey, babe," I rolled over onto my side to get a better angle on him.

"Have I mentioned how much I love you at all lately?" He replied as he walked slowly towards the bed.

"How long were you standing there?"

"About ten minutes," He replied, kneeling by my bed and leaning in to kiss me softly, "I was admiring you for a while."

"Where is everyone?"

"Don't worry about it. Your dad's sleeping, your brother's working on homework down in the kitchen," He told me, kissing me softly – then tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, "You are so beautiful."

"What has gotten into you?" I asked, rolling back over slightly to go back to lying on my back.

"I miss you," I replied, crawling up next to me in bed and draping an arm over my stomach, "I miss spending actual time with you – I just miss you."

"Miss me?"

"The way we were," He mentioned as he allowed me to roll over onto my side so that I was facing him, "Before the accident and everything sort of disintegrated."

"Babe, I'm exhausted," I admitted, letting my forehead fall onto his chest.

"I know," He kissed the top of my head.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, last night," I told him, "It really wasn't your fault that they didn't listen to me, and as long as it was there I guess I didn't have a right to tell you whether or not you could watch it. I just felt overwhelmed, and ganged up on. Everyone else wanted to see, and I just don't. Nothing in me even wants to know who was driving, because it doesn't matter who was driving, you understand that, right?"

"I do," He replied, kissing my forehead, "Let's get off this subject, shall we? How was your day today?"

"Pretty relaxed comparatively," I replied, "Woke up, woke Mike up, made breakfast, brought Mike to practice, went and visited with Jason, picked Mike up from practice, brought Mike to Lunch with Grandma, brought Mike to the therapist, came home started dinner, went and got Mike from the therapist, got home and dad was here and you weren't. I figured you didn't want to see me…."

"My mom called, she was near town for some function this afternoon," He replied, rubbing my back softly, "It wasn't that I didn't want to see you, I just had to go meet up with her for a few minutes. Then I figured by the time I got back your dad'd be passed out and Mike'd be off doing his own thing…"

"Aria?" Mike was in the doorway, and I popped up behind Ezra to see him.

"What's up?"

"Is it ok if I spend the night at Kevin's?" He asked and I nodded.

"Sure, is he coming to pick you up, or do you need a ride?"

"His mom offered, but I'd rather not…"

"Say no more," Ezra hopped up and grabbed his car keys from his pocket, "Where're we going?"

"I've got it, Ez," I attempted to get off the bed but he stopped me.

"I can run him over to his friend's," Ezra told me, shrugging, "Weren't you just complaining that you were exhausted, take a nap – when I get back we'll watch a movie or something."

I took Ezra's advice, the second they had walked out of my room I was completely passed out, I'm sure drooling, on top of my bed. I assumed. When he got back, I really wanted to watch something with him, but I could barely lift my head, never mind stand up and move downstairs to the couch. He very kindly lay with me on the bed at least until I fell back to sleep, but when I woke up in the morning, he wasn't there. It was kind of sad, actually, not that I had really expected him to risk spending the whole night; it just would have been nice to have a warm body lying next to me when I woke up.

I took a deep breath and started getting ready for the day slowly. Kevin's mom will have driven Mike to lacrosse with Kevin, which meant I had the morning off. Ezra had long since picked dad up. I hoped he hadn't gone home for only a few hours just to come back – maybe he spent the night on the couch or something. I went and took a nice long hot shower, then went out to the car.

I thought for a second about going to visit one of my friends, Hanna, or Spencer, or Emily – but I really just didn't want to see them. They wouldn't understand the way Ezra seemed to that I didn't want to know. Jason, was an option but I had just seen him the day before. I decided, once I was already pulling out of the driveway that I would go visit Ezra at work – bring him lunch.

"Hey, babe," I said happily as I walked into his office carrying take out from his favorite Thai restaurant.

"Thai?" He asked as I sat down on his desk, setting the bag in front of him, "This is a surprise."

"I got your favorites," I told him, caressing the side of his face playfully.

"Thanks," He smiled, leaning in and kissing me softly, "You're feeling better this morning then?"

"Well I didn't have to drive Mike to practice," I said, "I had a little more time. Then I didn't want to just stay home all alone – so I came to visit you."

"Well you're definitely welcome whenever you want," He replied, leaning in and kissing me again, placing his hands on my thighs.

"Oh, I'm sorry – am I interrupting?" A voice that I had become all to familiar with in my nightmares came from the door.

I looked around to see Jackie coming in, carrying a stack of papers.

"What's up?" Ezra asked, looking over – he had a look on his face like he was surprised she had shown her face – but I couldn't quite place if this was happy or sad or angry.

"Just thought I'd bring these by for you to look over," she said, swinging her hips like she was a human swing set as she walked over, put them on his desk and made a show of leaving as well.

"What was that?" I asked him as he very smoothly made the transition to the bag of takeout.

"Nothing, we have to work on a committee together," He replied, "I think she's over it, really."

"Yeah, and she just had to bring it to you ten seconds after I got here?"

"Aria…"

"Ezra, I told you," I said, "I don't like her handing around. It makes me uncomfortable."

"So we're going to have this fight again?" He asked, "I don't wanna have this fight again."

"Well neither do I," I could feel my temper about to blow off the handle, "I don't know why you keep bringing her back into our lives."

"Because she's a friend."

"Who adores you! Who's in love with you! " I felt myself falling apart, and I didn't even care, "It's like you don't even care about who you're dragging into our lives."

"Aria," He looked so hurt that I immediately felt bad about what I had said, "I am in love with you, it doesn't matter-"

"It matters to me," I replied and he took a deep breath.

"Aria, relax," He attempted to be soothing, "The whole thing has me in the same room with her for all of an hour a week. With like three other professors. Also, I don't know why she came in just now – you're probably right – but what does it matter? I still have to look over these, and I don't wanna have this fight again."

"Neither do I," I pouted as he pulled me off of the desk and into his lap.

"Let's not then," He replied as he kissed the side of my head, "It's not worth it. Rumors are that she'll be gone at the end of the year anyways."

"She is?"

He nodded.

"Good," I said matter-o-factly and he chuckled, "What?"

"Nothing," He smiled as he opened up the take out box, "You're just very cute. You want some, right? You're sharing with me?"

"I have to go get Mike," I leaned in and kissed the side of his head, "But, I'll see you later at home, right?"

"Of course," He replied.

"I'm going to heat up Spencer's mom's casserole for dinner."

"Which is?"

"Broccoli and chicken alfredo."

"Delicious."


	16. Problems

A/N: It's like my subconscious was protecting me, as soon as I was done with finals I had a huge rush of Ezria need… so here we go…. Thanks for sticking around guys! Read. Enjoy. Review… : ) It's a little short, but I sort of had to end it where I did, if that makes sense, hopefully it will when you read it! Love yas!

After the Rainfall – Chapter Sixteen

Ezra.

"Good morning, Byron," I greeted him that morning as he walked out of the house – I wanted to hit him, but I knew I couldn't.

"Good morning," He was only slightly slurred now, he was a happy drunk in the morning, "Where're you going?"

"I just wanna run in and see Aria real quick," I said, passing him on the way in as he walked out, "First day back at school, you know…"

"Right," He replied as he headed towards the car, and I walked into the house, to the kitchen.

Aria was making breakfast for herself and Mike in the kitchen, she hadn't heard me come in. I stood in the door way for a minute to admire her: the way the sun came in the window onto her hair, the way she looked standing more on one foot than the other. I couldn't wait until it was our kitchen that she was standing in, making breakfast for our kids. That sounded really awful, not necessarily our kitchen, but our house, instead of her parents. I wanted to give her everything she wanted, and from what I could tell that was part of the deal. Next year she would be a senior, and then college – but I'd wait. I'd go wherever she would want to go, and I'd wait for her no matter what.

"You gonna go in?" Mike came up behind me, "It looks kinda sketchy with you just standing there, watching her."

I chuckled a little to myself as he passed by me in the door way and got his breakfast from Aria, then headed out into the living room. He made her notice my presence and she smiled as she set down the frying pan that she had made their eggs in to come over towards me, I managed to make my legs work just long enough to meet her halfway and wrap her up in my arms. I kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much," I told her and she beamed up at me, all doe eyed – I kissed her softly, "Have you been thinking about college applications? We could go look at some schools this weekend if you wanted – We could bring Mike even, if he wanted to."

"I thought I'd just go to Hollis," She replied – no, I wanted to get her out of here, "I mean with everything that's going on, I want to be close by – you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," I admitted, "Can we talk about it later though?"

"Sure," She replied as she went back to the eggs, fixing herself a plate, "I made too many, do you want some?"

"No, I'm ok," I said, "I should get going anyways."

"You're coming to Mike's game this afternoon, right?" Aria asked, as Mike came into the room.

"You don't have to, it's just a scrimmage," He said as he put his plate in the sink, "It's not even a real game."

"What time?" I asked, not that it mattered – I was going whether I had to cancel a class or not, if Byron wasn't going to be there for this kid – I was.

"It's at four," Aria told me, and I nodded.

"I'll be there," I said, smiling as I left the kitchen, "See you guys later."

I walked back out to the driveway and was about to get into the car when I saw Jason on a jog going by the house. I wanted to go over to him and – I didn't even know what. So much wrong was going on around me, and Jason seemed to be the only one that I felt secure enough to take it out on. I took a deep breath, he saw me – seemed to sense the danger, and when just a little faster and off onto a side street. I hopped into the driver's seat to take Byron and myself to work.

As per usual, I dropped Byron off at the door, and then went to find a parking space. I couldn't get the image of Jason out of my head, and all I could see was red. I controlled myself enough to actually get to my parking space and then manually step by step walk into the building, reminding myself why I was doing so with each step. I walked into my office and checked my class schedule for the day, and was happy to see that I didn't have to rearrange anything to make it to Mike's lacrosse game, just had to cancel an office hour that no one came to anyways. I just had to mention it to my classes today when I saw them.

I went through my day as normal as I good, still not all too happy – but there were a few moments where I got the image of Jason out of my head. I was still ripping mad when I went to pack up for the day. Byron had a later class, so I had to stop in to see if a colleague wouldn't mind dropping Byron off.

"Hey," I said as I knocked on the door and entered the room, "I was just looking at the classes, and you're off about the same time as Byron, right?"

"Yeah," Jake replied, he was a slightly friendly face around campus for me, he didn't live too far from the Montgomery's anyways, "Why what's up?"

"I have to run to make it to Mike's lacrosse game," I said, "Would you mind giving Byron a lift home?"

"Yeah sure."

"Thanks."

"You're going to Mike's game?" Jake asked, "You drive Byron to and from work every day. I know you're with the girl, but is that really worth all of this?"

"Yes," I said without even a half a second's thought, "I love her, and I love her family – for the most part. They're all hurting, and if showing up to a lacrosse game, or making it so Byron can get to and from work safely helps them out – then I'm in. Or if it at least makes Aria worry less. That's all I'm about right now. Taking care of her, by helping her take care of them."

He sort of looked surprised by my answer, and shrugged.

"Alright."

"So you've got Byron later?" I verified.

"Yeah, tell him to meet me in the lobby," He replied, "I'll drop him off."

"Thanks," I said and headed to Byron's office.

He was, as per usual slouched into his love seat with a scotch in hand.

"What's up?" He asked and I took a deep breath.

"I have to duck out a little early today," I told him, "So Jake's gonna drop you off, ok? He said to meet him out in the lobby after your last class."

"You're 'ducking out early'?" Oh, God he was already in his mean stage.

"Yeah, there's something I have to be there for," I told him, instantly furious that I was about to take one for going to his son's game that he didn't even know he was playing again, "It was only an office hour, so I'll just make it up later in the week."

I left the room before he could say anything else. I loved Aria, and I loved Mike, as a little brother, but I was not going to take crap from Byron about stupid little things. I walked out of the offices and headed across the parking lot to my car. There was a piece of paper under the windshield wiper. I ripped it out and read the note, guess who it was from.

_All that anger so close to the surface can't be healthy, you should let off some steam, teach… ~A_

I crumpled it up and stuck it in my bag as I put it in the back seat and headed out towards the high school. As I was driving, all I could feel was the anger boiling up inside of me. Passed through town with white knuckles on the steering wheel. Then, just as I was about to get to the school for the game, I took a turn down towards Jason's. I was trying to talk myself down, told myself I'd just drive by – but then I saw him, outside, getting in his car.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, barely remembering to park my car as I did so just inside the grounds of the driveway.

"To Mike's game," He replied, "I'm assuming you're headed to the same."

"No," I slammed the door to his car for him, "You are going to stay the hell away from them, all of them."

"Hey, Aria asked me to go," He replied, and I punched him – square in the eye.

It had been a split second decision, and about another for my fist to actually make contact with his eye.

"I know why you're here," He replied, he didn't even move to fight back, "And honestly I'm surprised it took you this long. Go ahead, beat the living shit out of me – I promise it won't be even close to how much I've beat myself up about it."

"Then stay the hell away from them," I replied and he shook his head.

I couldn't tell if the pain in his face had more to do with the rapidly purpling eye or the situation.

"I can't."

"This isn't about you," I told him, "This isn't about your pain, or whatever guilt you might feel. This is about Aria – and her eventually finding out that a guy she's thought of as a friend really was the first step to killing her mother. This is about Mike, you know the kid that already has huge issues with himself, his image, and his own mental health. This is not about you, this is about them. They can't handle having you, or your little friend around."

I was already going to miss the start of the game – and I turned and headed back to my car. I had no more time for Jason.

"What little friend?" Jason called after me, but I didn't answer as I hopped back into my car and headed over to the fields, cooling myself off as best I could on the way.

"Sorry I'm late," I said as I walked up next to Aria as she was about to get into the stands.

"You're not late," she smiled, which faded once she actually caught a glimpse of my face, "They haven't even started yet – What's the matter, babe?"

"Nothing," I told her, "I took care of it."

"You took care of what?" She asked as she wiped a bead of sweat I didn't know what there off my forehead, "Are you ok?"

"Everything's fine," I replied, checking to make sure no one was watching before leaning over and kissing her forehead briefly.

"We'll talk about it later?" She checked and I nodded.

Fine, anything to get her off of it for now. If she didn't want to know, that was her business – but knowing, I couldn't let her get herself hurt anymore than she was already. I couldn't let her get any closer to Jason, and it didn't have anything to do with his feelings for her – I could care less, every other guy on the street looked her up and down – no. It was her friendship with him, and if or when she found out what he had done – who he affiliated with. Just another reason to get her out of the town as soon as possible.

The team started making their way from the locker rooms to the field and Aria yelled and hollered until Mike saw us, both waving at him. He smiled a little, just as I had suspected and we sat down to watch the game. As it started up, there weren't many people there, and we were sitting behind most of them. I started to relax, lent an arm over Aria's shoulders, and she placed her head to the side to rest and watch.

Honestly, I had no clue what was going on in the game, or even how lacrosse was supposed to be played. I think even Aria had a very limited knowledge, but what mattered was that we were there, and Mike seemed to be happy. I watched him down on the sidelines with his friends, he seemed a lot better than he had been. I smiled, and stood up and cheered at the end, Aria and I both, it was funny thinking of how we looked with the rest of the parents. We climbed down the bleachers and met Mike on the sidelines.

"Good game," I said, patting him on the shoulder just as he pulled up and off his pads.

"Thanks, dude," He said, and I caught the eye of one of the parents.

I hadn't quite assessed what the popular thought around town was about Aria and I, but I knew it wasn't good. Or at least I assumed it was terrible and people where just keeping quiet to our faces. However, what met my eyes was a smiling face, of a mother I had had a parent teacher conference with. It was almost to say, 'Well I'm glad someone's there for them'. I smiled back at her and took Aria's hand, the smile didn't fade.

"You ready to go?" I asked, keeping in mind that Byron was not in a good mood – if I could just keep them out of the house long enough for him to pass out.

"Yeah, coach said we could leave," He replied.

"How about we grab some dinner out?" I asked and they both nodded.

"Sure," Aria seemed disappointed about something.

"Cool, I'll go grab my stuff."

"Meet us in the parking lot," she told her brother and we headed off.

"What's up?" asked her, kissing the side of her head.

"Jason," she replied, "He'd said he'd come to the game. I was trying to make Mike see just how many people were in his corner."

"Ah, I'm sorry," I told her, I felt like shit – but I assumed it was better than what could have been.

"Did I miss the game?" Jason asked as he walked out from behind a car.

His eye was now a deep purple, impressive.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked as I went awkwardly silent, hopefully she didn't notice.

"I deserved it, don't worry about it," He replied, "I feel bad – Where's Mike?"

"Getting his stuff," She replied, letting go of my hand to put hand up to his eye, "Who did this to you?"

"No one," He replied, attempting to exchange glances with me, but I just stared down at the ground.

Jason's "subtly" didn't go unnoticed by Aria, who looked back at me, dropping her hand from Jason's eye.

"I better get going."

Jason took off and Aria turned on me.

"You 'took care of it'?" She asked, her eyes expanding to at least six times their usual size.


	17. An Answer

A/N: Hey guys, I'm going to try to update with more consistency for you guys!

Aria.

"We'll talk about this later?" I nearly screamed it out as Mike came up behind him, he whipped around momentarily and nodded, "Mike – mind if we just pick you up a burger or something?"

"Sure, Fitz in trouble?" He asked, he looked genuinely concerned – and looked to me for the answer.

"Yeah," Ezra said, "I did something stupid, I was having a bad day and…"

"What happened?"

"Nothing, c'mon," I said - not believing he would bring this up with Mike as I ushered him into the car.

"I'll see you at the apartment?"

"Oh you'll hear me first," I replied, "C'mon Mike."

"So what happened?" Mike asked as we drove away, "What'd he do?"

"Nothing."

"Obviously he did something."

"He, I don't even know what to classify it as."

"Well what ever he did I'm sure he had a good reason," He told me, "He's Fitz, and he's completely and totally whipped he'd never do something intentionally to hurt you. That guy loves you more than I've ever seen a guy love someone."

"If he loves me so much why the hell would he give Jason a black eye?" I asked, more like let it slip.

"What?" Mike sounded horribly confused and went silent as I pulled through a fast food burger stand.

"Here," I handed him his favorite meal from the place and he took it, still not saying anything.

"You know, I know violence isn't the answer and all of that crap," He finally voiced as we pulled into the driveway in front of the house, "But you have to remember Fitz is a pretty peaceful guy…"

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know," He replied, "I know Jason's your friend and there's weirdness between him and Fitz because of it – but some of the things I've heard about Jason – I'm not surprised is all… If Ezra heard what I've been hearing. If he went to talk to Jason – and things escalated."

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked him and he shrugged, "What've you been hearing about Jason?"

"Nothing," He replied, though his eyes were telling me, 'everything', "I know more than you'd like to think I know, Aria. Like what really killed mom. I remember the accident too, all of it."

"What?" I was shocked, hadn't I done anything and everything I had done to keep him safe from what was going on.

"Go, talk to Fitz, let him explain – then judge him if you can," He replied, as he opened the door and hopped out, "But please, don't be angry with him about this. He's not only a good guy, he's the best guy I've ever met. He loves you, he treats you like a queen, he loves all of us – because he loves you so much. Do you have any idea how hard he's working to keep us all together and happy and safe? You know how many assholes that would have run for the door?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but the door was already closed and Mike was already halfway up the walkway. I waited to make sure he got inside, then backed out of the driveway to head to Ezra's. Maybe Mike had a point, but my mind was also swirling and twisting and turning with how much Mike could possibly know. Did he know that the car accident didn't kill mom? That it was pills Noel Kahn had given her in her coma? That would explain why he hadn't been hanging around with him all too much. That would explain the multiple a week therapy visits. But what did that explain about Jason?

I pulled into Ezra's apartment complex and parked out back like I usually did. I got out and bolted across the parking lot to the back door, where I snuck up to Ezra's apartment door. It flew open the moment I stepped into view of it and he was standing there, waiting for me. He looked absolutely ashamed with himself, and I took his hand as I passed in order to walk him into the apartment, and over to the couch. I wasn't so much angry with him, as I had before – but more confused, lost, wanting answers out of him. Answers that I knew I would have to do a bit of prying to get fully.

"Mike thinks he knows why you punched Jason, and that I shouldn't be upset with you," I said and Ezra raised his eyebrows, "He also hinted at the fact that he knew about A, and that he remembers the accident – and he also told me that the accident didn't kill mom."

"Well, he seems to have his facts straight from what I know," Ezra replied, "I still shouldn't have punched Jason though…."

"What I need to know is what Jason had to do with mom's accident," I was looking him straight in the eyes, but as soon as I said this he turned away slightly.

"I promised you I would never tell you," He responded and I squinted at him, waiting for an explanation.

"What? It's ok, you can tell me what's going on, babe."

"I promised, that I would never tell you who was driving the car that hit your mother's," He spat out, barely able to get the words out without scrambling them horribly in mumbles.

Suddenly it all came to me, rushing in at once. Jason had been driving the other car, but how had he lost control? How had I not realized? When I was talking about Jason about everyone knowing about who had been driving? How had he come across a stolen car? The questions still swirled in my head as Ezra took me in his arms, wrapping me up tight as I attached to him.

"I didn't hit him out of jealousy, I didn't hit him out of – I don't even know why I hit him – frustration I guess," He said, then took a deep breath, "I could barely manage to hear you mention him after I found out – and I was scared, what if he's in line with A. He seemed pretty remorseful this afternoon. I stopped because I saw him getting in his car, and I could only assume he was heading to Mike's game. I don't want him around, I knew the closer you to got the more it would hurt when you found out. Plus, we don't know how dangerous this guy is."

"I have to talk to him," I replied and he nodded.

"Ok, but I'm coming with you."

"He won't want you there."

"Tough," He said, shortly, "Aria, you mean way to much to me for me to let you confront him on your own – also, how irresponsible would it be given the circumstances? He might very well be in line with A, what happens if he hurts you? What happens to Mike? To your dad? To me?"

"I'm sorry, Baby," I said, hugging him a little tighter.

"About what?" He asked, leaning down and kissing me softly, "None of this is your fault."

"I know, but for dragging you down here into it with me," I replied and he shook his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, Aria," He scoffed, "If you didn't drag me with you, I would have had to dive in after you."

"Naw," I breathed, as I reached up and pushed a lock of his hair back into place.

"So how was school today?" He asked it, and I could barely believe that it had been the same day.

"It was fine, to be expected," I replied, "I made up – sort of with Hanna, Emily, and Spencer. They accepted that I just didn't want to know – that was my choice. Wren didn't have work until late tonight so we hung out after school with him for a while before I had to leave for Mike's game."

"That sounds like an ok day," He replied, stroking the side of my leg lovingly.

"I love you so much," I said, not even sure I was speaking as I looked into his face.

"Aria," He said softly, touching my lips with his briefly, "You are my world. You're the only person on the planet that I care about."

"C'mon," I said, hopping up out of his arms and pulling him to his feet.

"What're you doing?" He asked.

"We are going to talk to Jason."

"Seriously?" He asked, checking his watch, "Right now."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep til we at least try to clear this up," I replied and he just took a deep breath.

"You really think this is a good idea?"

"Well I think not going to talk to him would be a bad idea," I replied and he shrugged.

"Ok," He pulled me close, let his hand travel a littler further down than he normally would – and kissed me passionately, "We'll take my car."

He took my arm, and I could tell he would have carried me down the stairs if he thought I would let him. It seemed like all he wanted to do was be as close as possible to me as we drove he put his arm around me, and I leaned over. He was being a good sport, doing exactly what he needed to do to make me happy – as always. I could cuddle with him on the way to the last place in the world he wanted to be. I managed to squeeze my arms around him where he was sitting and he smiled as I set my head on his chest.

"Thank – you," I said, "For all you've been doing, for Mike. For dad."

"It's all for you," He replied, "You know that."

"Still," I said, leaning up and kissing his cheek, "Maybe I could manage to sleep over tonight."

"On a school night?" He teased as he pulled up, and parked on the street, out of view of Jason if he were looking out the window.

"Hmmm, I don't think my house is all that much better than staying with a boyfriend—"

"Why don't I sleep over your place?" He asked and I was surprised.

"I'll sleep on the couch," He replied, "Honestly I don't think your dad'll comment – but if he does I'll just tell him that we were all hanging out late, me, you, and Mike and you guys just told me to take the couch."

"Ok," I replied, "I'll just text Mike and make sure Dad's already passed out and he's ok with the story."

"Ok," He chuckled, then cleared his throat as he got out of the car.

I had just finished texting Mike when Ezra appeared at my door to open it for me. He very slowly opened the door, and offered up his hand as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. I smiled as I took it, and he helped me, very chivalrously, out of the car. He pulled me up close to him, and kissed my forehead – I smiled.

"You ready?"

"Will I ever be ready for this?"

"No," He replied, hugging me tightly, before taking my hand.

He let me lead him up to the front door to the house. We stood out on the porch while I knocked on the door, he stood quietly behind me, moral support. He placed his other hand gently on the small of my back, just to emphasize the fact that he was right behind me, and was going to be as long as I wanted him to be. I smiled a little, then Jason appeared in the doorway.

"It seems we need to have a little discussion," I said and Jason nodded.

"I was expecting you two hours ago," He replied, his black eye still a deep purple, "C'mon in, we'll chat."

"You're not working with A, right?"

"No, not that I'm aware of," He replied, "I believe I've been used by A, but other than that…"

"Wait, he knows-?" Ezra seemed confused as we sat down at the kitchen table.

"He's been getting notes on and off since Ali died," I informed him and he raised his eyebrows.

"So you really aren't working with –"

"No, the furthest thing from it," He replied, "I've been trying to figure out who it was since the morning after she disappeared."

"Do you want to explain what happened?" I asked, "Mike knows it was you too, because he remembers… but…"

"I woke up one morning with a stolen car in the driveway with an 'A' note attached," He replied, "I hid it around back until I realized I would eventually have to get rid of it – and then I was going to drive it across town and ditch it… I got distracted. It was purely an accident – I didn't even see who was in the car, I just took off. All I knew was that I was in a stolen car, and the car was still relatively drivable, I had to ditch it. So I went and ditched it, then headed back to make sure everyone was taken care of. I got there and Ezra was there, making sure they got into ambulances… when I saw who it was – you have no idea."

"It really was an accident…" Aria seemed surprised.

"Or as close to an accident as it could be with A being involved," Jason replied, "So then I was terrified, and I wanted to tell you, or turn myself in, or something but A kept threatening me. I couldn't turn myself in, and I couldn't do anything – it was killing me. I was going to keep my distance, but I was being used like a puppet. Then I didn't feel right not going. Then this guy was all what're you doing here, you're either a friend, or you're not…and I decided I was… I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory."

My phone went off in my pocket.

_Sounds fine, and yeah looks like Dad's been passed out a while, I helped him upstairs. Does this mean Fitz isn't in trouble anymore ? ~Mike_

"Mike?" Ezra asked I nodded.

"He said that it'd be fine with him," I told him and he nodded as I shot Mike a response very quickly then put my phone away.

"And so we're even further from finding out who A is," Ezra breathed, he was frustrated.

"You don't wanna know," He replied, "You wanna get out before you have to."

"Well that's an entirely different conversation," Ezra replied and I looked at him questioningly, "Later…"

"Well, we'll get going then," I said, getting up, "Sorry to bother you so late, Jason. I just knew I wouldn't be able to sleep without settling this."

"No problem," He replied as he and Ezra got up and we were ushered towards the door, "Come by anytime you need to talk."

"We should go get my car," I said as Ezra and I walked to the car.

"We can go get it," He replied, leaning down and kissing the top of my head, "I love you so much – whether you believe me or not, I am glad that Jason isn't what I thought he was."

"I believe you, babe," I breathed, turning and leaning against the passenger's side of his car, pulling him close to me, "You're protective because you love me, that's not a fault. With everything that's happened in the last year, there's no reason you shouldn't be. It's ok. It's quite alright. You're just trying to protect me."

"We need to talk," He leaned in and kissed my forehead, "About colleges."

"Ok," I said and he nodded, "Can we get home first? I can change into my pajamas? We can be comfy? Because all I wanna do right now is cuddle."

He chuckled, showing off those amazing dimples in the moonlight.

"I think that'd be just fine," He smiled, leaning in and kissing me as he opened my door for me.

A/n 2: Apologies guys, about the mixed up povs in the beginning... I believe I fixed it though :)


	18. a couple weeks

A/N: Ok, here we go… (Sorry about the mixed up POV in the beginning of last chapter… I fixed it though…) anyways… this story will be soon coming to a close (like three to four (maybe) more chapters) so let me know if you guys think I should do a sequel? Or try a completely different story with these two…

Chapter Eighteen:

Aria.

A few hours later, I was warm and comfortable sitting with Ezra on the couch. Mike had stayed up to see us, and was sitting in the chair across the coffee table from us. He had popped us some popcorn, and we were sitting around talking with the TV was on in the background, but no one was listening to it. Everything about the scene was normal, that was except for the actual conversation.

"So did you guys talk to Jason?" Mike asked and we both nodded.

"And, A has been threatening and using him too, Mike," I replied, and he swallowed – he knew about A, "How long have you known about A?"

"Since you were telling Ezra, a little while back," He replied, "I listened in. I'm sorry, but I knew something fishy was going on with you and your friends for a while."

"And you know about the poison, and the pills?" Ezra asked, he seemed more intrigued than anything else – like he was trying to get a sense of what Mike had absorbed in the past couple months.

"Of course," He replied, "You guys seemed surprised that I know so much. I'm in this house all the time. I even knew that Aria was the one you were dating. With all the rumors around school about you dating one of the students. I knew it was you."

"Well Noel told you," I butted in and he nodded.

"But even before that," He replied.

"And you kept it a secret?"

"I made noel keep it a secret," He replied, "Remember? When they found all that crap in Noel's locker? That was me."

"You turned Noel in for cheating?" I was surprised.

"I couldn't let him out you guys," He shrugged, "I didn't know what was going on – but if you didn't want it out, I knew you had a reason. I obviously didn't like the idea too much – but it was your business, not his. Not anyone elses."

"You're the best brother ever," I said it without really thinking and he chuckled.

"Just looking out for you," He replied, "Give you time to figure out what you were doing. So Jason's not working with A?"

"No," I replied and he took a deep breath, "It seems it was just a wrong place, wrong time thing."

"Good."

"I'm just curious – you don't have to respond if you don't want," Ezra said, "But how much of the accident do you remember?"

"All of it," He replied, "Jason hitting us, Jason taking off. The shape mom was in, you getting there and taking care of us. You not letting me look at mom once you pulled us out – though I did anyways. You doing CPR, the ambulances coming. Then it gets a little foggy because they had me on pain meds, but-"

"Have you been talking to your therapist about it?"

"Yeah, I left out Jason's name and some of the more crazy things, like the pills," He replied, "Anything that they would take as a conspiracy theory. Other than that yeah."

"Well if you ever need to talk, we're here too," I told him, and Ezra nodded.

"You know where my apartment is, right?"

"Yup," Mike replied, and Ezra nodded.

"Come by if you ever need to," He said and Mike smiled a little as he stood up.

"Thanks," He said, stretching, "I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning, and have a good night."

"Oh, I'm exhausted," I yawned as I snuggled in to Ezra's side.

He smiled as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly as he kissed the top of my head.

"We don't have to do anymore talking tonight," He smiled, kissing my forehead this time, "You can go to bed if you'd like."

"No, you wanted to talk to me about colleges," I replied, "And I know what you're going to say."

"What?"

"That I can't limit my options because of you."

"Ah, not quite," He replied, "That you can't limit your options to stay here for Mike and your dad."

"Well I'd be staying here for you too," She replied and I took a deep breath.

"Aria, I'm willing to follow you wherever you want," he breathed, rewrapping his arms around me.

"Seriously? You were saying not to long ago that college was when I shouldn't be packing you up and bringing you with me."

"I was angry," He said, clearly very sorry for ever saying such a thing, "But Aria, you're eighteen in a couple weeks. We're home free. I am more than willing to come with you – get an apartment near campus. Maybe find a high school gig nearby?"

"You wanna go back to high school?"

"I can," He replied, "I liked high school much more than college."

"Are you sure you weren't just biased cause of me?"

"Maybe a little bit," He chuckled as I leaned in and kissed him softly.

"You sure, babe?"

"Aria," He pulled me tighter, "I want to get you as far away from this ridiculous town as possible. And, I want you to go wherever you want, and do whatever you want to do. I don't mind tagging along with you. I want to."

"Babe, are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," He replied, pulling me in tighter, "What am I doing here that I can't do wherever you're at school?"

"Can we go look at colleges this weekend?"

"Absolutely," He smiled, "Make a list, we'll leave Friday."

"We can take Mike?" I asked, and he nodded, "Wow, you are a Prince Charming, aren't you?"

"Good night, my love," He replied and I smiled as he kissed me goodnight.

I went and got ready for bed, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I had thrown my hair up in a ponytail and was just waiting outside of it, I assumed for Mike to be done. I took a deep breath as the door opened and it was dad, severely hung over.

"Oh hey dad, how're you feeling?" I asked as I passed him into the bathroom.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," I replied, "Oh, by the way Ezra's going to spend the night on the couch tonight. We were hanging out with Mike, and it got late. It didn't make sense for him to go home just to be here to get you in the morning, so he's just gonna sleep on the couch – hope that's ok."

"Ezra's not the problem," He replied, kicking at the back of my leg, "You are, you little bitch!"

He struck again this time at the back of my knee, and I feel. All of a sudden I felt him kicking me, right into the cabinet that I had fallen against. He just kept kicking and kicking. And I was sure I felt my arm break against the as I tried to protect my head.

"You stupid Bitch!" He screamed and I heard someone running up the stairs, "You're not going anywhere. How the hell do you think you would be able to leave us like that? I heard you talking about leaving here!"

"Dad!" I heard Mike scream, just as I felt the kicking stop.

"Mike, go call an ambulance!" I heard Ezra, but he sounded out of breath, "Byron!"

I managed to open my eyes to see dad struggling within Ezra's grasp. Then, I saw dad's fist come out of nowhere and hit Ezra, one to his ear, and one to his gut. Then, dad left the bathroom and then we heard the door to his bedroom slam. I went to try and get up – but I couldn't.

"It's ok, stay right there," He said, as he knelt down and took a cold cloth to wash off my face, "I wanna get you up off the floor. Do you think you'll be ok if I carry you into the living room?"

"Yeah," I replied and he picked me up, very carefully, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," He replied, but I could see a bruise starting to form across his face.

He laid me down on the couch and put a pillow very carefully placed a pillow behind my head.

"Oh baby," I raised my uninjured-ish arm up to cup the hurt part of his face, "Baby, I'm so sorry you got hurt."

"Aria," He breathed, then pulled out his cell phone.

"The ambulance's coming," Mike said, "Is she going to be ok?"

"I think so," Ezra said, "We do have to come up with a story though."

"A story? Dad beat the shit out of her – look at her."

"Mike," I warned.

"Yes, but if anyone finds out – your dad will go to jail, and you and Aria go to your Aunt's," Ezra filled him in.

"Ok, so what happened?" Mike asked, realizing the gravity of what was going on.

"We'll explain later," Ezra said, pulling out his phone, "I'm going to call Wren and make sure he's on your case. You turn eighteen in a couple weeks, we can manage til then Mike, what did you tell the ambulance?"

"That Aria was bad."

"Anything else?"

"No," He replied.

"Ok," Ezra took a deep breath, "Aria was outside, we don't know what attacked her, I went out cause I heard the screams."

"That's so flimsy," I rolled my eyes.

"That's why we're going to need Wren."

Flashing lights started showing through the windows, and Mike went to get the door for the EMTs. They came in abut the time I lost consciousness. I woke up I the hospital a few hours later, with Wren on one side checking my vitals and Ezra sitting at my bedside on the other, holding my relatively lowly bandaged hand. My left arm was in a cast, and about half the rest of my body was all done up in bandages.

"She's awake."

"Aria?" Wren shined a flashlight in my eyes, "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear you fine," I said, "Wren get that light out of my eyes."

"Ok," He chuckled as he took it away, "Now, when you're feeling up to it – I'd like to talk to you about how exactly you got in this condition."

"I was outside, I don't remember exactly," I told him, "But Ezra came out and…"

"It's ok, Aria," Wren said, "We can talk about it – alone – later, when you're feeling up to it."

"Wait," I said, "You think Ezra did this? He's beat up too?"

"They look like defensive wounds – he hasn't let anyone close enough to get a good look at them," Wren was looking at Ezra now.

"No," I said, "Ezra saved me. He would never…"

"Then tell me who did this to you, Aria?"

"This is why we requested you," Ezra said, "Aria turns eighteen in a couple weeks – until then I can't take her away from it – but I will as soon as I can."

"Are we?"

"That's why we chose you," I reiterated and he nodded as Mike walked in.

"I should've guessed," He replied, a dawning of understanding falling over his face, "How long?"

"It's only happened twice now," Aria said, "And both have been since mom died."

"It won't happen again," Mike said, and Wren nodded and excused himself from the room.

"I promise, not going to say anything," He said as he left, closing the door behind him.

"Your damn right," Ezra said, "Neither of you are there without me, ever anymore. I will sleep on the couch every night. He knows I know now, I have a lot more leverage. He will get help, even if I have to drive him to AA, and anger management myself. He will be better by the time we leave."

"You guys are really leaving?" Mike asked.

"For college, Mike," Aria replied, "I won't be too far – but I have to get out for a little. We won't leave if dad's not dad again – don't worry."

"Why do you wanna help dad?"

"He's still dad."

Mike seemed put off by her response. Wren came back with discharge papers, saying he could allow me to go home as long as Ezra promised to watch me very carefully. Which he more than promised to do. We got home and Mike went to bed. Ezra helped me into my bedroom, and then pulled in the chair from the living room. He tucked me in, and then sat down. I smiled, seeing him there through the moonlight By the time I woke up in the morning Mike had taken his place sitting and watching me.

"Where's Ezra?" I rolled over onto my back.

"Fitz should be back soon," Mike said, as he picked up a glass of water and brought it to me, "He brought dad so some rehab center near Philadelphia."

"He brought dad to a rehab center?"

"Yeah, he woke up and asked to be brought somewhere," Mike told me and I took a deep breath, but it hurt, "Careful."

"Yeah," I replied, reaching out for a hand, "Can you help me to the bathroom, Mike?"

"Sure," He replied, lending me his arm for stability and waiting outside the bathroom door.

"Hey, Mike," I heard Ezra come in, "Aria still sleeping?"

"Naw, she's in there," I heard him walk away and Ezra walk over.

"You ok?" He asked very sweetly.

"Alright," I replied as I got up and pulled my pajama pants back up.

"Can I come in?" He asked and I mumbled a 'yes' as I flushed the toilet.

I went to wash my hands, and he came up behind me – turning the water on for me.

"Let me just say how sorry I am I wasn't here when you woke up," He whispered, kissing the side of my neck as I washed my hands as best I could without getting the cast.

"It's ok, how's dad?"

"Torn up," He replied, "I dropped him off to a two week program, so we'll see, I guess."

"Why's Mike here? He should be at school," I voiced and Ezra nodded.

"He went this morning," He replied, "It's about three o clock, Aria. I waited until he was home before I left with your dad."

We started walking, rather slowly, towards the living room – Ezra helped me on the stairs.

"Did dad see me before he left?"

"He couldn't even look in, not that I was about to let him," He replied, "He called the school though – said you'd be out today and possibly the rest of the week."

"I have missed way too much school."

"You'll be ok – everyone understands."

"I'm scared, Ez."

"You don't have to be," He replied, wrapping me up – carefully – in his arms and holding me tight.

I was safe.


	19. Surpises

A/N: Ok, so this one's a little long… but hopefully you'll all enjoy… just have a couple kinks to work out before the end :/…. Read. Enjoy. Review… : )

Chapter Nineteen:

Ezra.

Life was much quieter after Byron went away, which was terrible, but true. Considering that the only slight drama we got was an occasional text from A, threatening us about something or other – but the idea that we'd be out of here a year from now, it was bright. I was getting Aria out of this crazy little town, and we were going to leave Mike – but we would come and check on him, and Byron would be back to normal by the time we left. The world, for once, seemed to be turning my way –our way- which was why I was completely on guard and ready for something terrible to happen.

We were leaving the next day for our college weekend, Aria had made a list, and we were going to follow it to the letter, plus have a great time. I called Byron at rehab and told him what was going on, he told me to have Aria take money out of the family account for it. He paid for the hotels, and gave us a bit for food, also enough for Mike to do something else while we went on tours if he wanted. Turned out him and Ella had been planning to take her over the summer, and he said that it was probably better that I take her anyways.

I had just run to the store to get snacks for the car ride, and was about to head home when it occurred to me that I had one more stop to go before I could go home and sleep. I drove across town without even thinking it through, I knew exactly what I had to do – but that didn't mean that I liked it. I looked at the cooler of drinks I had in the backseat, and the hummus I had gotten for Aria, and the sour cream and onion dip I got for Mike– it needed to be refrigerated. I took a deep breath, it would be ok, it would survive.

I parked outside Jason's house and took a deep breath. I got out of the car, and walked up the all too familiar walkway to the front door. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door – trying to keep it friendly.

"Hi?" Jason answered the door, completely puzzled – but he stepped aside so I could walk in, "C'mon in. Though, you realize when I said to come by whenever you needed to, I was talking to Aria."

"I know," I said and he nodded, then led me into the living room to sit down.

"Can I offer you a drink? Or something to eat?" He asked, playing the good host.

"No, I'm alright," I told him, "I just wanted to talk to you really quick."

"Ok," Jason was, actually, a good guy, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm taking Aria away – as soon as I can," I blurted it out – there was no good way for him to hear that, I had accepted that, "I'm encouraging for her to look – far enough away – for school. I just thought I'd give you a heads up. I just want to get her as far away from this god forsaken town as possible, as quickly as possible."

"I don't blame you," He replied, "But why're you here? What do you owe me that you feel like you have to tell me?"

"We're more alike than you think," I told him, and he raised his eye brows.

"Where're you goin' with this teach?"

"You and I," I said, "We're both madly in love with the same girl."

"And you're here to rub it in my face that you two are going to be the ones riding off into the sunset, away from all this?" He asked, "Believe me; I came to that realization a long time ago."

"That's not why I'm here," I replied, "I'm giving you a heads up. I wouldn't bother to stop by just to shove it in your face, Jason. I came here to tell you to make the most of the next year that you'll be able to spend with her, because after that the girl both of us love is going to be safe. She's getting away from A, and everything that haunts her here."

"Including me," He replied, "You have no idea how many factors are in your favor when it comes to her. I'm Ali's older brother, she can't even look at me without feeling pain. I hit her mom, I was a stoner loser that loved her from afar since we were kids."

"Jason, I only needed one: She loves me," I said, "Has since the moment she saw me. We were sitting in a pub and she fell in love with me within minutes. I'm the luckiest bastard on the face of the planet."

"That's really how it happened?" Jason asked and I nodded.

"I'm sure later finding out I was her teacher helped – the whole forbidden part of it all," I elaborated.

"What makes you think that it was in the bar?"

"We made out, in the bathroom," I shared, and he looked surprised, "Talked half the night, and the next morning her heart broke just as much as mine did when we found out she was in my class."

"Why didn't you end it?"

"I couldn't."

Jason took a deep breath, and I knew my reason for coming was much clearer to him. He loved Aria, and that wasn't something I faulted him for – but he had to understand. He was beating himself up and blaming circumstance, and going that way he would never be able to enjoy himself. He would always be wondering what if? And not dealing with the reality or the fact that he had been friend zoned from the start. That it never would have happened, no matter who his sister had been, and whether or not he had tried to make a move when they were children. All this didn't truly matter, because he loved her – it didn't matter how she felt about him at the moment. He needed to let go, for his own sake, before we left – and he had a year.

The next day Mike and I were sitting outside in the car– a Friday that they had off from school- waiting for Aria so that we could go look at some schools. We were talking the whole weekend, and spending the night in a hotel in New York tonight. All I had to do was just make sure that my brother or mother didn't find out we were in the area, at all. We were driving up and stopping off at Pittsburg state, and to Penn State. Then we were heading up to check out NYU. Then, in the morning we were planning on taking off towards Boston to take a look at a few of the schools there.

"I don't want you and Aria to go all the way to Boston," Mike said from the backseat while he inspected the map.

"We're just going to take a look," I replied, "Honestly, I think NYU is going to be the winner, after talking to her last night – but you never know. You can come spend long weekends and breaks with us – or we'll come back."

"You really want to go back to New York?" Mike asked and I shook my head.

"I wanna go wherever Aria wants to go," I said, taking the map as he handed it back to me, "Thank-you."

"You should try to get her to go to Penn or Pittsburg," Mike said, "It's far enough away – but it's still pretty close."

"We'll see how she likes 'em," I replied as Aria came down the walkway.

Her beautiful brown hair was bouncing around her face as she walked. Her cast was hidden, for the most part, by her sleeve and most of the major bruises were covered either by makeup or clothing. She was so beautiful, I still couldn't understand what she was doing with me, but I couldn't wait to get her away from here. Somewhere, anywhere, where she wouldn't be able to get texts from A, or far enough away so that she never had to see her dad again if she didn't want.

"Good morning," She smiled softly as she got in the car, and leaned over to kiss my cheek, "Mind if we go visit mom real quick before we head out?"

"Sure," I said, starting to back out of the driveway, "Do you want to stop for some flowers?"

"That would be nice." Aria replied – and I nodded as we took our little detour before leaving.

Aria and Mike both got out at the cemetery, and I let them stay as long as they wanted. We had tours at noon and three, but we had plenty of time. They actually didn't take too long, and were getting back into the car within a few minutes. I had, in the back of my mind marked this weekend as a possible duel romantic getaway/college looking extravaganza, but I wasn't so sure now that we were bringing Mike along. It wasn't like it was a huge thorn in my side, and I was planning on certain romantic things remaining intact, we would have our own bedroom and our privacy while on the trip.

"When're we stopping for food?" Mike asked, getting settled in the backseat with his pillow against the window.

"Lunch," I replied, "I was hoping we could wait until after the Pennsylvanian colleges so we could eat in New York."

"That's so long," Aria replied and I shrugged.

"We can stop whenever."

"Why don't we stop for lunch between the two," Mike offered.

"Then eat dinner in New York," Aria said, somewhat excited at the prospect.

"That sounds fine."

When we finally did stop for lunch, we had stopped at Pittsburg State, and Aria had been able to cross it off her list.

"I just don't think it's for me," She said and I nodded as Mike and I followed her into a sub shop.

"That's perfectly fine," I told her, "At least you know that it's not for you now. That's half of looking for colleges."

"What're we getting?" Mike asked, looking up at the menu.

"Whatever you want, Mike," Aria told her brother, "Ez, can you get me one of the personal pizzas? I'm going to go get us a table."

"Of course," I kissed the top of her head as she headed off to the corner booth.

"What's up with her?" Mike asked and I shrugged.

"I'm sure she'll be better once we see a few more schools," I said, "I think she thought Pittsburg would be more impressive to her than it was."

"Gotcha," He replied, "How far are we from the next one?"

"About a half hour," I told him, "Then the Hotel's in New York City – I'd like to check in before dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," Mike said, then walked up to the counter, ordering himself a sandwich, and Aria's personal pizza.

"I'll have the Veggie club," I told the man behind the counter and he went off to make our lunch, "Hey, Mike."

"Yeah, Fitz?"

"Could you do me a favor tonight?"

"How so?"

I gave him a quick explanation of my plan, and he seemed to think it was a good idea. He very quickly agreed to it, which I was sort of hoping would happen. By the time the man returned with our food, Mike was actually relatively excited about being in on my plan.

"Everything ok?" Aria asked suspiciously as we brought lunch to the table.

"Everything's fine, Ari," Mike teased, smiling smugly.

"Ok, there is definitely something up," She said, as we sat down, "You haven't called me that since you were seven."

"I thought I'd bring it back," Mike replied, "I can not, if you prefer."

"No, it's fine," She replied and I chuckled.

Aria seemed to be a little more as ease once we visited Penn. She seemed to like it a little better, which I think made her feel a little better. By the time we were driving to New York, Mike was asleep in the backseat with his pillow pressed against the window. Aria looked back at him and smiled, then leaned in and kissed me quickly.

"I love you," She said and I smiled as I got off the highway, and was just starting to find the hotel.

"I love you too," I replied, leaning over very carefully and kissing the side of her head.

"I don't feel so good," Mike said from the back seat, and the plan was a go.

"Naw, you want anything?" Aria asked and Mike groaned – this kid was great.

"Just wanna get into the hotel."

"Aw, but we were going to go out to dinner," Aria said and Mike turned.

"You guys still go," He replied, "I'm not really hungry – I'll just go pass out in the hotel."

"Ok," Aria said as I found the garage attached to the hotel.

We brought in our overnight bags, I carried them so Mike didn't have to ruin his Oscar winning performance in order to carry it. We got inside and settled and then I went to the mini fridge in the suite. Mike had his own room, and I was sure he was playing around with one of his gadgets with the door closed. I took the rose I had ordered out of the fridge, and smiled. Aria was still freshening up before we left, and I went to check in on Mike. True to form, he was playing something on his cell phone.

"Thanks, Mike," I said and he nodded.

"No problem," He replied as I dropped money for room service on his bed, "The food will be charged to the room – the cash's for the tip."

"Ok," He said, taking it and putting it on his nightstand, "And don't leave the room ok? That's the last thing we need is to lose you in New York."

"Ok," Mike nodded, "I'll just eat and watch a movie or something."

"Ok," I said.

"Nice rose," Mike smiled and I chuckled.

"You think so?"

"She'll like it," Mike replied, and I nodded.

I snuck out of the room with the rose hidden behind my back, closing the door carefully as I walked out. Aria was just coming out of our room. I had had the hotel lay out a dress that I had bought Aria on the bed for when we got there, and I smiled as I saw her in it. She looked absolutely fantastic. The dress fit her exactly as I thought it would, and I was about to drop dead, there was no way this beautiful girl was mine.

"Is he ok?"

"He's fine," I replied, handing her the rose, kissing her softly, "He's out cold – I was just delivering him a glass of water for later. You look absolutely drop dead gorgeous."

"You're such a good big brother. And thank you," She smiled, spinning around for me as we walked out into the living portion of the suite, "It was a little something I found on the bed, who ever picked it out knows me very well."

"Lucky guy," I teased her and she smiled as we headed out of our suite and towards the elevator.

"But no, I really want to thank you, a lot for all you've been doing for Mike," Aria said as we got on the elevator, "I don't mean just bringing him a glass of water – about everything, going to his games, and all of that. You've really adopted him as your little brother, and I appreciate that."

"He's a good little brother."

"You've brought him out of his shell – he seems happy, despite everything."

"He's a cool kid," I said, scratching my forehead as we walked off the elevator and through the lobby to the sidewalk.

"And he's perfectly fine," She smiling knowingly as I wrapped my arm around her.

"Hey, I thought he did a pretty good job of acting," I smirked, fully willing to take the fall.

"Oh he did a great job – never would have guessed if there wasn't a dress waiting for me in the room," She teased, stopping me on the corner so she could kiss me, "How long did you have this planned?"

"About the second you said you'd go this weekend," I smiled, as we got to the restruant, a large Italian one in the heart of the city.

"I love you so much," She said as we got in line for the hostess, letting her hand linger on the side of my face, "And to think, this could be our life."

"It will be," I told her, "If I have anything to do with our future – this is it."

She smiled as we got up to the hostess, and I gave her my name. I had a reservation in for a private, slightly secluded booth, which she took us to – and there was another single rose in a vase in the center of the table. Aria smiled as she scooted right into one side, and I took the side with my back to the wall. The hostess went through a quick spiel about the chef's specials of the day, handed us our menus, and left us alone.

"So this is out to dinner in the city?"

"This is just what I could put together in a couple days," I teased her and she smiled.

"Why do you treat me so well?" She asked, playing with the clothe under edge of her cast.

"Aria, why wouldn't I treat you well?" I asked, seriously concerned, "You're beautiful, and smart – you know these things. You're everything I ever thought I'd want, and everything I've ever dreamed, Aria. I mean, minus the whole age and that fact that I was your teacher thing. But the fact is, I love you, and all I want to see is that smile of yours, and to just make you happy. I want to spoil you, and show you off. I can't really do that all too well in Rosewood, so you better believe I'm going to leap at the opportunity to do so here."

"Well, that was a thorough answer," She seemed taken aback, and I kissed her across the table.

"I'm going to get a drink at the bar – I'm dying of thirst, and the servers always take so long at places like this," I told her, "Do you want anything?"

"I'll have a club soda," She replied and I smiled as I got up.

I stopped to lean in and kiss her one more time before I went up. I turned towards the bar, and was very suddenly face to face with – my mother.


	20. Threats

A/N: So, (1) I don't think I can apologize enough for the lateness of this chapter, but I'm sorry. (2) I've been thinking and I think I'd rather just continue this story with what would happen in the sequel rather than having it be a second story. (3) I am writing another story (I started it to see what would happen) and you guys should check it out it's called Rosewood, Subtract All Tragedies…. It's Ezra/Aria/Jason but Ali's alive, and it's weird… anyways… hope you guys enjoy : )

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty:

Ezra.

"Mom?"

I couldn't believe my eyes, as I saw Aria shrink back a little in the booth. This could not be possible, how many people were there in New York and I managed to pick the same restaurant as my mother, the one night I was in town? Furthermore, I specifically picked a great restraint that she hated, overtly. Actually, the last time she, my brother, and I went here she announced that she would never step foot in it again. Something was up, someone had tipped her off.

"Ezra, Darling," She replied, coming up and engulfing me in one of her oddly cold hugs, kissing each of my cheeks simply because it was in fashion, "Why didn't you tell me you were in town?"

"I'm only here for the night," I told her, "How did you know I was here?"

"A little birdy told me," She replied, "I tried to get your brother to come, but he's got his feathers all in a twist with some new thang. Blonde."

"Right," I said, "But, mum I'm kind of on a date, so…"

"A date?" She looked at the booth, "Sweetheart there's no need to hide, I'm not the devil he's described to you."

"Mom…"

"Hi," Aria seemed – unaware – of how to act as she very carefully climbed out of the booth, I offered her my hand.

"Mom, this is Aria," I took a deep breath, "Aria, this is… my mother."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Aria smiled, extending her hand and shaking my mother's.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, Sweetheart," She smiled.

A red flag went straight up in the air for me the second she smiled. Mother never smiled like that, that friendly, 'its ok, I won't hurt you' smile. In fact, studies showed that if she did that – she was really, in fact not at all pleased with the situation.

"Well, we were about to order – so I'll call you, maybe I could stop by and see you tomorrow," I said, trying to get her out, not that I actually thought it would work.

"Oh, nonsense, I'm sure Aria wants a chance to get to know the woman who raised such a fine man that she's been dating," Mom always had a way with subtly, and I knew that this all spelled out trouble, "How long've you been dating?"

"Eight months," I told her, "About."

"Wow, that's a long time for you, Ezzy," She commented as she ushered us back into the booth – mother had a way of doing that, "You two must be fairly serious…"

Mother started to drone on about meeting a man's mother before getting too serious about him, and I kept trying to subtly get it across the table to Aria how sorry I was. We were never going to get a nice, normal date. I couldn't bare to tell mom that this would be on of our first actual weekends away together, and that as it was we had had to bring her brother and were looking at colleges as she droned on and on about the best places to go on getaways. My heart stopped when I thought about what would happen should she realize that Aria wasn't even eighteen, and she was goin on and on about different types of wine. Luckily Aria had the sense to just go along with it.

Then, about a half hour after mom had showed up, we were sipping our drinks as Aria's phone went off in her purse. I raised my eyebrows and she pulled it out, read the text quickly and then rolled her eyes, and gave a fake pout.

"What is it, Darling?" Mom asked.

"My brother, he came with us to get out of Rosewood for a while," Aria said, slipping her phone back into her purse "He's sick, back at the hotel. That was him, he was wondering when we'd be back. I think he really needs me, I think we have to go, Ez."

"That's fine," I said, slightly confused – but very grateful for an excuse to get out of the restruant and away from my mother.

"Oh, do you two really have to go?" Mom was upset, "How old is the boy?"

"He's eleven," I fibbed as I draped my jacket over Aria's shoulders, it would be colder outside now, "Aria's father had to go away for the weekend on business, so we offered to take the little guy with us."

"We left him sleeping," Aria said as I dropped enough to cover our drinks and the dinners they were already making on the table, "He woke up, and we left him a note, but –"

"We should stop for crackers and Gatorade on the way back," I threw in and Aria nodded.

"It was nice to meet you," Aria said happily to mom and then we headed out of the restaurant.

"That was – really quick thinking," I complimented Aria as we stepped out into the night, walking in the general direction of the hotel.

"What? You think you're the only one who can pull a sick brother card?"

"No," I said, taking her hand, "And I'm really sorry about mom – I don't know how she could've known where we'd be."

"Really?" Aria asked, "You hadn't put that together? The text I got in there, it was A. Asking how it was meeting the in-law."

"What?" It was like someone had sucker punched me right in the gut as my lungs deflated of oxygen, "How did A manage to…?"

"Ezra, I don't think you quite know what we're dealing with here."

"So if we're here, in New York," I was trying to get the idea straight in my head, "A can still get to us?"

"Seems like it," Aria replied, "Though I don't know how long their powers would last. That would have been relatively easy to put together, if they did a little research, found your mom – you made a reservation, right?"

"I did."

"Well then it was just plain easy," Aria said, "If we want to truly get away from A, we'd have to lose 'em. Then start our new life. Just running away to New York for the weekend isn't going to free us."

"But what if we're here all the time?" I asked, "Wouldn't they run out of ammo? Especially from such a long distance. I mean if loving long distance relationships don't work out – wouldn't crazy stalker ones have the same fate?"

"I don't know," Aria replied, then she smiled smugly, "Did your mom just call you 'Ezzy?"

"Well, Pooky Bear," I teased her and she smiled again, I couldn't restrain myself as I grabbed her, pulled her in close and kissed her, "We all have childhood nicknames."

"Ok, Ezzy," She chuckled as I wrapped my arm around her back and we continued down the street.

"So, Pooky Bear, would you like to stop for a pizza or something?" I asked her, kissing the top of her head, "Or would you like to get back to the hotel and have room service?"

"Pizza sounds good," she smiled, and I grinned – maybe the night wouldn't be a complete wreck.

An hour later we were returning to the hotel, and Aria was – attached to my arm. I was beaming like an idiot, and I was sure that I would never care how many strange looks I was getting, or how many glances we were receiving. We walked into the suite, and Mike was passed out on the couch in front of some old time gangster movie. Aria smiled calmly and went and shut the TV off.

"Mike," She said softly, tapping her brother on the shoulder.

I recognized the tone in her voice as she continued to slowly wake him. It was very similar to the tone she used when waking me up in the morning, should we have risked a sleepover and I out slept her. Though my waking up involved a lot more kissing, and her hand running up and down my side. I shivered, then decided it might be in my best interest to grab a glass of water as Aria coaxed Mike into his bed, rather than just leaving him on the couch. I finished the last sip of water as Aria returned.

"Want something to drink?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Nope," She replied, taking my hand and starting to pull me across the room.

"You sure you're not thirsty?" I asked, smirking as I realized she was trying to get me into the bedroom.

"I am not thirsty," Aria replied matter-o-factly and I chuckled as she backed into the room, pulling me along.

I shut the door as we entered, and she sat down on the bed.

"Are you tired?" I asked, trying to sound like it was a honest question.

"A little," She replied, "But I'm not quite ready for bed."

"Oh yeah?" I smiled as I sat down beside her, and she jumped into my lap.

"We do have to wake up for the NYU tour in the morning though," She pointed out as she wrapped her arms around my neck – and I wrapped my arms around her.

"Well, I think we can manage that," I chuckled as I laid back, pulling her with me – holding her to my chest.

"I love cuddling with you," She said, rather adorably as I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Well that works out well then," I teased her.

"We should change into our PJ's fIrst," she looked up at me, and I shook my head, "No?"

"Aria – all I want to do right now, is kiss the woman I love, well I guess make out with her – until I fall asleep," I told her, leaning my neck down and kissing her softly, "And if that means I'm sleeping in my clothes – I'm sleeping in my clothes."

"You won't be sleeping in your shirt," She promised me, scooting up and kissing me – passionately.

I woke up the next morning to the alarm I had just barely thought to set before falling asleep the night before. I threw out a hand and shut it off before it woke Aria, who was sleeping on my chest. We hadn't even bothered to get under the covers, but Aria had my shirt draped over her shoulders like a blanket, and I smiled to myself as I leaned down and kissed the beautiful girl lying in my arms' forehead.

I woke her up, very gently, and then we took our showers and got ready for our day. Aria was in the shower, and I had just finished putting my shoes on when I went to get my phone off my charger. I could hear Mike out in the hallway, so I grabbed it without looking at it, and put it in my pocket as I headed out into the living area. Mike was snacking on some chips.

"Mike, we're going to get breakfast," I told him and he dropped the chip he was holding back into the bag.

"Sorry," He replied, wrapping them up and stuffing them into one of his bags.

"It's fine," I chuckled as I went back and wheeled out my suit case, and the one Aria didn't need to get ready after her shower.

"So how was date night?" Mike asked and I shrugged.

"Turned out ok," I said and he raised his eyebrows.

"You guys got back awful late."

"Well my mother showed up at the originally planned on restaurant," I told him as I sat down with him on the couch, "So, we had to escape – and we ended up with Pizza."

"Pizza?"

"She didn't seem too disappointed."

"No, not at all," Mike smiled, "Happier than she's been in a long while. I think I can actually hear her singing in the shower from here. I don't want to know the rest of the date."

Ezra smiled as he pulled out his phone to check the time, only to be told on his home screen that he had a missed text message from an unknown number. He opened it:

_No matter where you take her, you'll never be able to escape me. She knows to much for me to lay off. That's my bitch you're borrowing. ~A._

It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me, and Mike seemed to notice. I was sure my facial features dropped about eighteen levels while I was reading the text, and Mike was far from stupid, he was actually insanely sensitive to everything around him. I slapped on a fake smile and he raised his eyebrows.

"What's up?"

I told myself a long time ago I was never going to lie to Mike, not again – never.

"I just got some very disappointing news," I told him and he nodded.

"Yeah, I gathered that," Mike said, irritated.

"You said you knew about A?" I said, and he nodded, "Well A, whoever they are?"

"Yup?"

"When we do find out who they are," I prefaced, "I'm going to beat the shit out of them."

"What'd they say?"

"Just something stupid about Aria."

"You might wanna see who it is first," Mike replied, "What if it turns out to be some little old lady?" 

"Very true," I chuckled and he smiled.

"What's wrong?" Aria walked out, just as I was going back to contemplating the message.

"He's letting A get the best of him." Mike filled her in before I could say anything.

"Did they text you?" Aria looked surprised.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," I said, wanting to skate over this conversation and get going, "C'mon NYU is waiting."


	21. Eighteen pt 1

A/N: Hey guys… sorry this took so long… enjoy!

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-One:

Aria.

I rolled over in my bed, and smiled at the clock that was just beside my head. The alarm hadn't gone off yet, and any other day I would be pissed to be ripped from any sort of sleep, particularly with the dream that I had been having about Ezra. But this was a special day, one that I had been dreaming about coming all year. It was the day that I turned eighteen. Eighteen. Ezra was mine, free and clear. There was nothing that anyone could do or say about them now- he was hers and she was his. And, as luck would have it – it was a Saturday.

"Birthday Girl!" I heard Ezra outside my door.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, getting up and going to open her bedroom door for him.

"Like I would miss a second of your birthday," He said as he leaned in and kissed me – then handed me a bouquet of red roses.

"Yeah, she's finally not jailbait to you," Mike teased as he walked in.

"Mike."

"It's fine," Ezra chuckled, leaning in and kissing her again, "We're in the clear now."

"Ready for a working birthday?" Mike asked, looking around the boxes that were crowding Aria's room.

"I am," I smiled.

They had worked it out that I would move in with Ezra on the day that I turned eighteen, and live with him for senior year. Dad would be coming back from rehab the next day, and I had admitted to Ezra that I didn't want to live with him – at least for a while after he came back. I never wanted something like that to happen ever again, and Ezra had agreed. Dad, slightly reformed and remorseful didn't particularly like the idea, but understood when Ezra went to talk to him about it. So, for the time being I would sleep over and live with Ezra, while slowly rebuilding my relationship with Dad. Then, if a time came when I felt comfortable enough to move back in – I would. In the meantime, dad offered to pick up rent for Ezra – as I didn't have access to her inheritance from my mother's life insurance, or my trust fund until I was twenty.

"Though I don't know how helpful I'll be," I held up her cast.

"It's ok," Mike said, showing off his limited muscles playfully, "We've got it."

"Jason's coming over to help, too," Ezra said and Mike raised his eyebrows.

"Jason's just as much of a victim as we are," I reminded Mike and he shook his head.

"Yeah," Mike said, picking up a box and heading out the door.

"We do have to make this quick," Ezra mentioned to me, wrapping an arm around me and kissing the top of my head, "That's why I called Jason to ask him to help."

"Why?" I asked, "I was hoping we could just move my stuff over to your place and spend the night unpacking, together."

"But it's your birthday," He chuckled, "There will be plenty of time for that, other plans have been made."

"We have to go to a party, don't we?"

"I told Spencer I'd keep it a surprise," He said and I rolled my eyes, pouting.

"Ok," I said, "They've been trying to make an excuse to be able to hang out with us as a couple for a long time. And I don't think mom's funeral and all of that counts."

"I don't think it does either," Ezra said.

"But I get to decide when we leave."

"Ok."

"And we're leaving early," I pointed out, "The minute I start to act smashed, take me home."

"Please don't get smashed."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Good."

"I'm finally eighteen!" I smiled, throwing the roses on her bed and throwing her arms around Ezra's neck.

"And that's why you're not drinking tonight."

"Seriously?"

"Maybe," He smirked and I rolled my eyes, "Either way, I'd like to have you to myself for a couple hours – minus any puking or passing out."

"You're no fun," I teased him and he chuckled as I leaned in and kissed him again.

"Would you both stop making out and help with the boxes?" Jason chuckled as he and Mike walked into the room.

"They're fine," Mike said, glaring at Jason as he grabbed a couple more of Aria's boxes.

"Right," I said as Mike left the room with a box.

"He hates me now," Jason observed.

"No," Ezra said as he grabbed a couple boxes.

"He just needs a little space I think," I said as Ezra headed out of the room, and I slung my backpack over my shoulder, "You could try talking to him once he cools down."

"I will," He agreed as I led him out to the driveway where they were packing up both Jason and Ezra's cars, "So what's the moving plan?"

"Just get everything over to the apartment," Ezra said, as he helped Mike get a few boxes into his trunk.

"We can pack my car up too," I said, and Ezra nodded as she unlocked the doors.

Within an hour we had all three cars packed up with all of the stuff I was bringing with me. I was leaving a lot home, because it wasn't like I was never coming back. I just needed my clothes, and most of my stuff, I left my bed, a few changes of clothes, and some PJs. I was still going to the house just about every day, and still going to taxi Mike around – I just wasn't going to live there. We drove caravan style, with Mike in my car with me, and Jason between Ezra and I's cars over to Ezra's apartment – and I guess it was mine too, now.

"You should give Jason a chance to talk to you," I told Mike, "He's really insanely-"

"I just don't want to hear it right now, Aria," Mike said, and I nodded – I understood, "Maybe in a little while – but not now."

"Ok," Aria said, "Are you coming to Spencer's tonight?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise… but yes," He replied, "I knew Fitz'd never be able to keep anything from you."

"And that's a bad thing?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Only when there's supposed to be a surprise party," He smirked as he turned the radio on.

"Well I had other plans for us tonight, he had to tell me," I said and Mike raised his eyebrows.

"Really? You just turned eighteen today," Mike chuckled, "Classy, Aria."

"Hey, that was not it," I said, "And I haven't been able to have alone time with my boyfriend for weeks, Mike."

"All right."

"You're twisted," I smirked as I pulled up next to Ezra's car.

"I don't think I'm too far off," Mike chuckled as we all piled out of our cars.

"What's going on?" Ezra asked as we went to unpack Jason's car first.

"Aria's legal now," Mike smirked and Ezra's jaw dropped.

"Seriously, Mike?" Ezra chuckled.

"Who's to say they haven't already?" Jason asked.

"Ok, this all needs to stop," I said and Ezra nodded.

"I agree," Ezra said, handing Mike a box.

Mike and Jason helped Ezra bring the boxes up to his apartment while I went around and did a very basic organization of all of the things they brought in. The clothes went over by the closet and spare dresser, the bathroom supply boxes went straight into the bathroom, and so on. I had packed very carefully, knowing that I would only have about a day total to adjust to living in the apartment before life went back to full swing.

"This is the last box," Jason said, bringing it in and setting it on the bed.

"We're done earlier than expected," Ezra commented, coming in behind him, "Aria, would you like to go find some lunch, or would you like to unpack?"

"Lunch sounds good," I said, hopping up from my perch on the bed, "We have to run Mike back anyways."

"What do you want, Birthday girl?" Jason asked.

I hadn't asked, but from everyone but Ezra and I's reaction to Jason I had to assume that he wasn't invited to the party later. This meant that this would be the only birthday activity that he would be involved in. I smiled to myself, at least I got one with him in it to.

"Aria?" Ezra asked, "Where do you want to eat?"

"What about that new little Thai food place down the street from here?" I asked and they all nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Mike smiled, and Jason nodded.

"Let's go," Ezra said.

Mike and I got in the car with Ezra and Jason got into his car to follow us there. Mike managed to keep his any further opinions of Jason to himself, and we had a good time. Mike was a little – cold – toward Jason, but I don't think he quite understood the whole situation. Either way, he didn't sulk he simply contributed to the conversation directly to Ezra and I. Jason kept cracked a joke about how jealous Alison would be of her now. Ezra then made a stab at

However, no matter how much of a good time I was having with all three of them, I was dying for some alone time with Ezra. I had been for some time, it was just the most recent time where I could see a clear window. We didn't have to go to Spencer's until the evening, and it was only noon as they sat eating their food. Ezra seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because as soon as everyone was finished he reminded Mike that he hadn't even thought about touching his homework yet.

Just a mere twenty minutes later, Ezra and I were walking through the hallway of his – our – apartment building, and he stopped me outside the door.

"What?" I asked as he held up his hand and went to open the door.

"Welcome home, beautiful," He smiled boyishly as he swung the door open for me grandly.

I spun around and plopped down on the couch, laying there in pure satisfaction. I smiled as I sprawled out, and Ezra smirked as he came over and tilted his head to get a clear image of my face. I smiled.

"You can come cuddle me, if you want," I suggested and he smiled as he sat down by my feet.

I sat up, and laid myself in his all too comfortable arms. We cuddled right up and he smiled as he rewrapped his arms around me. I didn't want to ask the question that was on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to enjoy my moment with Ezra, but we weren't going to be able to just be very long. It was getting to be late in the afternoon and we had to get ready for the party still.

"What did A text you in New York to make you so upset?" I just couldn't keep it in anymore, my curiousity had been killing me ever since.

"I told you, Aria," He said, absent mindedly kissing the top of my head, "It's not anything new, it just bugged."

"Ok, but A hasn't texted either of us since," I said, "And, whatever they said really, really upset you. You went from the happiest I had seen you in a while – to so ridiculously depressed. You were sulking the whole time we were touring NYU, and Boston the next day."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let it bug me so much," Ezra said, "But one of the main reasons I want to get us out of here is to get you away from this person. What they pulled with my mom? It only proves that we'll never get away."

"What did A say to you?" I asked again, Ezra was never that pessimistic unless something was seriously wrong.

"Fine, here," Ezra handed me his phone with the text open on the screen.

"Oh my God," I said, reading it a few times over before handing over his phone again.

"So, I've been thinking," He said, "And I think the only way we're going to be able to get away from A, is to find out who it is."

"We came to that conclusion ages ago," I exhaled rather loudly, "But how? That's what we've been trying to do the whole time."

"I don't think we're looking for a kid," Ezra said, "I think Jenna, and Noel – they're working under someone. I don't know that they even know who it is."

My phone went off in my pocket.

_Hey, would you and Ezra mind stopping by my place for a little while? ~Spencer_


	22. Eighteen pt 2

A/N: Just letting you guys know, the updates may become a little slower, but I will continue working on this till it's done… That's not a promise I usually make… :)

After The Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-two:

Ezra.

"Wow," I said as we got out of the car at Spencer's house.

Her parents were clearly out, and her sister was clearly paid off or something because there was music blarring from the house. From the plans they had let me in on, Caleb had wired the house with speakers, and they had chosen it primarily for the pool in Spencer's backyard. One of my suits, and one of Aria's bikinis were already stashed in the house. Wren was going to be there, and was apparently supposedly not drinking purely so that he could also make sure no one was hurt.

"I haven't been to a house party in years," I chuckled as Aria attached herself to my arm.

"It's a birthday party," Aria corrected me, "But not exactly a surprise, wow it's loud."

"I didn't know you knew this many people," I said, watching some kids I had never seen before walking across the lawn as we walked up to the house.

"I don't," Aria replied, not surprised as we reached the door, "In Rosewood, parties are everything. They're more important than whatever you're supposed to be celebrating."

"Gotcha," I said as we walked through the door and saw Hanna, Spencer, and Emily sitting on the Island, "Aren't Spencer's parents lawyers?"

"Yeah," Aria said as they approached them, "Spencer, do your parents know what is going on at their house right now?"

"I told them we wanted to have a blow out for your birthday this year," Spencer said, "They said they were taking Melissa to New York the day of."

"Awesome," Aria chuckled as there was a loud splash outside, like someone doing a cannonball.

"Wren," Spencer turned to him, "Can you go make sure no one cracks their heads out there?"

I looked around at a bunch of my once students as they were sitting around the house with red solo cups, and a few of them I could see playing chicken in the pool – A couple more were making out on the edges of the party. I felt slightly uncomfortable, I would have welcomed a small hang out with the girls and their boyfriends or girlfriend, in Emily's case. This however, was a little more than I had imagined. I took a deep breath – as long as Aria was happy, I would be fine. I put my arms around her waist from behind.

"Naww," Emily said as Maya bounced over.

"I wanna go in the pool," Aria pouted, "I should've grabbed a suit."

"How would you know to bring one?" Spencer asked, glaring at Ezra.

"She guessed," I said, throwing my hands up innocently and Spencer shook her head.

"Both your suits are up in my room," Spencer said and Ezra smiled as Aria grabbed his hand to lead me off.

"Don't get any bright ideas about my bed," She called after us.

"Spencer!" Aria stopped, while they weren't too far away.

"Keep it on your own bed," Spencer teased, and the other girls laughed.

"Is Caleb DJing?" I asked as Aria led me back through the party towards the stairs.

"He is the tech guy," Aria chuckled as we climbed the stairs.

She led me right into Spencer's room, where our suits were sitting on her dresser.

"So this is the bedroom of a straight A student," I marveled, glancing around as Aria handed me my suit.

"Yup," Aria said, draping her arms around my neck, "A quick dip in the pool, make the rounds and then I will be just too drunk to function. You'll take me home, and then we get a nice hot bath."

"_We_ can get a nice hot bath?" I smirked, the idea was like a tick latching onto my brain.

"Mmhmm," Aria smiled, pressing her forehead against mine.

Then, all of a sudden I heard her phone go off in her pocket. She groaned in annoyance, kissed me one more time, and then reached down into her pocket to get her phone.

"'Happy Birthday, Aria. Hope you and your teacher-man have a great time. I'll be watching.~A."

"Well that idea's out the window," I said and Aria pouted.

"Seriously? You're going to let A ruin my birthday?"

"No," I said, leaning in and kissing her, "You're going to have a great birthday. I'm just not going to let A ruin our first time by hinting they'll be watching—We'll see."

The sudden change in attitude had very little to do with my actual thinking, and much more to do with the look on Aria's face as I was speaking. I kissed the top of her head as I headed out to the hallway bathroom to change into my swim trunks. I left on my t-shirt but layered my dress shirt over my jeans and carried them back to Spencer's room, where Aria promised that she was covered.

"Ez, can you tie my bikini top for me?" Aria asked, her back to me, holding up the strings by her neck.

"Of course," I walked over and tied it quickly for her, then kissed the side of her neck, "I love you."

"I love you too," She smiled as she threw her arms around my neck.

It was a certain smile, the one that made my heart race, the one that was so subtly seductive it messed with my head. I wrapped my arms around her, careful to place my hands where her bathing suit was not in order to maximize – everything as I leaned in and kissed her. Of all the things that I loved about Aria, as shallow as it may have sounded, one at the top of the list was the way that she kissed. I liked to think that it was only something only in the way she kissed _me_. The way she gave it everything she had, the way I could feel her actively loving me as she kissed me.

I felt her tongue start to play with my lower lip, and I let her in without even having to process it. I lifted her up in my arms, holding her tight against me as she angled her head down to keep her lips latched with mine. My hands moved down to cup her ass as she wrapped her legs around me and I smiled against her lips.

"Mmm, what babe?" Aria asked, pulling away and pushing back my hair to kiss my forehead affectionately.

"I just can't believe you're mine," I smiled and she grinned, "And I can't wait to take you away from here."

"Not my friends, specifically," She checked and I shook my head immediately.

"No, no, Never – Aria," I assured her, "But it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to get away from some crazy psycho stalker that's keeping me from making love to you, now would it?"

"I thought you said we had to figure out who it was," Aria reminded me as I set her down.

"Well, I don't think it'll matter much if we manage to give them the slip," I smiled, "Because right now I'm thinking some remote beach, or fishing village in Hawaii, or somewhere in the Caribbean would be far enough away that A wouldn't be able to find us."

"And what would we do there?"

"Well," I said, "We'd read, and swim, fish, and lay in the sand. Maybe have a few margaritas on the beach and…"

"That sounds nice," Aria smiled as she placed herself back into my arms, "But we should head back down to the party, Spencer'll start to worry."

"Ah yes," I said, and Aria stopped me as I was heading towards the door to the hallway by grabbing hold of my undershirt, "What?"

"Take it off, Ezra, please?" Aria pouted and I smirked.

"I'll take it off before we go in the pool," I told her, pecking her lips softly.

"Just take it off here."

"I don't feel comfortable walking around at a party without my shirt," I told her, "I'm not one of those guys."

"We'll be going straight to the pool," Aria said, "And I wanna show you off."

"You want to show me off?" Something about that just didn't sound right to me.

"Oh c'mon," Aria said, "Spencer and Hanna get to show Caleb and Wren off all the time. Oh look Caleb's wearing a suit, he looks so cute – Hanna you're so lucky. Oh, Wren's running around in hospital scrubs… No one knew you were mine until a couple weeks ago. No one could know… but now it's my birthday and I'm eighteen and there's nothing anyone can do…"

"Fine," I took a deep breathed, pulled my shirt off over my head and draped it over my shoulder, "But only on the way to the pool – I'm not hanging around the party like some half nude model."

"Well that's not what I want either," Aria said, and I smiled as she took my arm and led me downstairs.

There were whispers amongst the crowd as Aria led me through the house towards the pool. I heard several compliments, to put it nicely, from the female party goers as we passed. I then put my arm around Aria for a second before I came up with a better idea.

"Wait a second," I told her and she turned to look at me.

"What?"

"We're not hiding anymore," I said, and she nodded as I leaned in and kissed her, right in the middle of the party.

I wasn't sure how long I was going to let it go on for, but I wanted it to be an attention grabber. Aria was right, we had had to hide our relationship for way too long. Not that that hadn't stopped rumors to fly around, but the hiding had started to get ridiculous and it felt good to finally just let the whole world know that Aria was mine, and vice a versa. So, I held her in my arms and kissed her until she was leaning on me for support and cat calls started to echo into my ears.

"Whoa," Aria smiled as I pulled away, and I took her up in my arms bridal style, "Ez, where're you going?"

"To the pool," I announced with a playful smirk and Caleb turned the music up as I very determinedly carried Aria out the back door.

"You're not going to throw me in, are you?" Aria asked as a few people followed us outside – probably to see if I would do just that – the pool was momentarily empty.

"Well, I would," I smiled teasingly as I slowly walked down the stairs, Aria in my arms still, "But I'm afraid something like that would get me a one way ticket to the couch for the evening."

"It might," She said as I waded into the shallow end, she was barely touching the water, and I leaned down to kiss her again.

"Well I'd hate to do something so foolish," He teased, "Would hate to get myself in trouble."

"We'll help you out with that, if you'd like," said Mike, walking over towards the edge of the water, Wren, Caleb, and Lucas were all standing on the edges of the pool.

"No," Aria said, but I said nothing as they all cannon balled into the pool beside us.

An extremely water logged, and slightly upset Aria had suddenly replaced the happy, flirtatious one that had been there a few moments previously. I set her down on her feet, the water that was only up to the top of my shorts was at her midriff.

"We love you Aria," Mike joked as he came over and gave her a big wet hug, "You're the best sister ever."

"Michelangelo Montgomery," Aria said, almost scarily and he let go.

"Michelangelo?" I teased him and he just looked at me.

"Yes, you're going to be the one to comment on a weird name," He shot right back and I nodded.

"Touché," I smiled as I got out of the pool, pulling Aria out with me.

We toweled off with a towel out of a basket Spencer had out, and I threw my t-shirt back on. Aria went to change into the dress she had come in, and fix her hair and makeup. I followed her into the house, but stopped in the kitchen/living room area to hang out with Emily and Maya until she was ready. I sat down across from them on a couch.

"You and Aria look really happy," Maya commented and I nodded.

"We are."

"So, if you don't mind me asking—how long has that been going on?" She asked, "You guys look pretty comfortable."

"Maya!" Emily's eyes expanded to about three times their normal size.

"What? You didn't tell me, so I have to ask."

"I think I'll just put it as, I've been in love with her for a while now," I said carefully, and Maya nodded understandingly.

"And why wouldn't you be?" Emily said, "She's great."

"How are you guys doing?" I asked politely and they shrugged.

"Nothing big to report," Maya said as Aria slipped onto my lap.

"Hello, handsome," Aria smiled, fixing my hair with her fingers.

"I'm going to get a drink," Emily said, getting up, "Aria, do you want one? Ezra?"

"I'll take a drink," Aria said, and I shook my head as Maya got up to go with Emily.

"I thought you weren't going to drink?" I questioned and she nodded.

"But I have to be seen with it if you want to get out of here before two a.m."

"Fine," I leaned in and kissed her quickly.

The rest of the party seemed a lot more relaxing, and actually fun to me. Once I got over the initial fact that everyone there, with the exceptions of Wren and Caleb, were once my students and stopped thinking about it too hard – it was actually kind of fun. Caleb had gone back to DJing and Aria was bringing me around to say hi to everyone with her, and acting progressively more and more drunk. I was actually quite impressed with her acting skills – she hadn't even sipped her drink - as we made it back to the kitchen where Spencer was sitting at the island.

"Wow," Spencer said to me as Aria nearly "fell" off her chair, "You should get her home, Ez. The party's not going to miss her."

I smiled, this was exactly Aria's plan. I went over behind her and kissed the top of her head lovingly as she looked rather nauseas.

"Would you mind keeping an eye on her?" I asked, "I'll bring the car up to the front of the driveway now people have left?"

"Sure," Spencer said as I went upstairs to get our stuff.

My car keys were in my jean's pocket, and I slipped into the cargo pocket on my swim suit as I carried Aria's bikini and My clothes back downstairs and out the front door. There were still a few people playing with a football in the front yard, and I checked my watch. It was only just ten-thirty, not that anyone inside the party was paying attention to the time – but it was early. I knew it would only feed the rumors about Aria and I – but I didn't really care as I walked away from the party to get to the car that had been parked some ways up the street.

I just threw all of our things into the backseat, and just thought of what would happen once it was summer. Aria wouldn't have school, and I'd have work – but it'd be minimal, I was teaching only one class for the summer. I was distracted as I was walking around to the drivers' seat of my car. That was probably why I didn't notice anything strange that was going on around me.

That was until I felt a sharp pain in my side – and fell to the pavement in pain. I yelled in pain as I put my hand to my left side and realized that there was a gash just below my heart, and just a little more to the left. There was something metal hanging out of my side, and then it all started to go fuzzy.


	23. Concern

A/N: So… you think A might be a little angry about Ezra's talk about getting Aria away from them? I thought that they might… : / Oh, fantastic episode tonight, no?

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Three:

Mike.

I watched from the yard as Fitz headed to his car, I kept an eye on him. Once he pulled the car up for Aria, I was going to ask if he wouldn't mind giving me a lift home. I watched as he threw his and Aria's things into the backseat of his car, then watched in horror as a shadowy figure emerged from the woods behind him with something shiny, something that looked like some sort of knife. I opened my mouth but couldn't scream as the figure followed Fitz towards the drivers' side door.

That's when I started running towards him, but I was too late. I didn't start in time, I didn't come to my senses fast enough to be able to warn him. I watched as I ran as the shadow slashed open Fitz's side, and dug the knife in somewhere much too close to his heart for my liking. The figure seemed to see me as I continued running towards them, and they took back off into the woods.

I fell to my knees next to Fitz and tried to remember what they always told us to do in emergencies.

"Help!" I screamed, pressing my hands against his side to try and stop the bleeding – that's when I noticed his eyes starting to look distant, "Fitz! Fitz! Stay with me, ok? I'm not going to let you - … I NEED HELP! A DOCTOR, PLEASE! SOMEONE CALL 9-1-1!"

"What's going on?" said Wren as he came running over.

"Look for yourself," I told him and he looked shocked to see Fitz lying on the pavement, the blood starting to pool by his side.

"Ok," Wren said, ripping off his shirt and balling it up as he knelt down next to Fitz, "Mike, I need your shirt."

He held the balled up shirt to where most of the bleeding was coming from as Fitz yelped in pain. I pulled back and took my shirt off, balled it up, and gave it to him. He used it further up on Fitz's wound.

"Mike, stop looking at the blood," Wren said, as he looked over at me, "I need you to go call for an ambulance, and get your sister, ok? Ask Spencer for beach towels."

"You got it," I said, taking off towards the house.

"What's with the speed, kid?" Caleb asked as I got to the house.

"Caleb, I need you to call 9-1-1," I told him, "Tell them someone's been stabbed, and is bleeding – a lot."

"Ok," Caleb whipped out his cell phone and I headed to the kitchen.

"Aria, you have to come – quick," I said and Aria sobered up faster than I had seen anyone do so.

"What's wrong?"

"Spencer, I need towels," I told her, and she ran out to the poolside to get me a couple.

"What's going on, Mike?" Aria asked, and I just didn't answer – there was no way I was going to be the one to tell her that her boyfriend was bleeding out in the street.

"Here," Spencer handed me two towels about a second later.

"C'mon, Ari," I said and she followed as I ran out the front door.

"They're coming!" Caleb called as Aria broke into a run behind me.

"Thanks," I called.

"Who's coming?" Aria asked just as we came into view of Wren and Fitz, on the ground.

"Oh my god," Aria barely choked the words out.

"You're going to be ok," Wren was telling Fitz.

"Where's Aria?" Fitz sounded weak.

"I'm right here," Aria ran around to kneel by his head.

"Ok, Aria," Wren said, "I'm going to ask you not to look at the blood, just keep him awake, and keep him talking until the ambulance comes, ok? Mike – Do you have the towels?"

"Here," I handed them to him one at a time.

He rolled one up all twisted, so that it was hard, and replaced the blood soaked t-shirts with the towel, then he made a sort of brace to keep it in place around Fitz's body- and the knife.

"I'm not going to take the knife out," He explained to me, "The knife might be into something else, and the last thing we want to do in the field is to cause any more bleeding."

"Aria," Fitz sounded exhausted, like his body was working much too hard.

"I'm right here, Ez," Aria grabbed his hand.

"I love you."

"I love you, too Ezra," She replied, moving his hair out of his face for him, "Which is why your going to be fine, the ambulance is going to come – and they're going to patch you right up."

I could hear the sirens now, as the approached the house and everyone came out of the party to see what was happening. Aria took Fitz's keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Wren as they loaded Fitz onto a stretcher.

"Do you know how this happened, sir?" One of the paramedics asked Fitz and he mumbled something that sounded like a negative.

"Wren," Aria said as she stuck by the stretcher, "Bring Mike to the hospital?"

"Of course."

"Who's this?" The paramedics asked Fitz, motioning to Aria.

"Girlfriend," He said simply, "Tell her everything."

"Ok, sir," they said as they put on an oxygen mask, they had left Wren's makeshift splint on him.

"Girlfriend got a name?" The other paramedic asked Aria as he helped her into the ambulance.

"Aria."

The back doors slammed and the ambulance sped off towards Rosewood Memorial. Everyone that I was left standing with were all just standing around, not entirely sure of what to do. Spencer took a deep breath, and then hopped up on the hood of Fitz's car so that everyone in the crowd would be able to see and hear her.

"That's it, party's over."

The crowd dispersed as Maya, Emily, Hanna, Caleb, and Spencer came over to where Wren and I were standing.

"Ok," Spencer said, going into emergency mode, "Celeb and Maya, would you mind making sure everyone gets out, and Caleb, turn off the speakers?"

"Of course," Maya said, and Caleb nodded as they headed off towards the house.

"Wren, take Mike to the hospital like Aria said," Spencer said, and Wren nodded as he handed her his own keys.

"Bring my car?" He asked.

"We'll go with you," Hanna said for her and Emily.

The three of them ran off towards the driveway while Wren and I hopped into the car. There was blood all over both of us, and we took off for the hospital at about the same speed the ambulance had been going. It didn't take long before I could see Spencer driving the car behind us. If it was possible, Spencer's driving was even scarier then Wren's as we raced through town to the hospital.

"Is Fitz going to be ok?" I asked once we had parked at the hospital.

"I sure hope so," Wren said, switching into doctor mode, which he seemed to notice scared me, "He's lost a lot of blood but this hospital sees similar injuries everyday- they should be able to make him good as knew."

"Good," I took a deep breath as the girls caught up with us near the entrance.

"Your sister's boyfriend means an awful lot to you, doesn't he?" Wren said and I just nodded as we burst into the ER waiting room – which was deserted.

Deserted, except for Aria who was sitting all alone near the window, she looked petrified as we walked over.

"Excuse me," A nurse stopped Wren and I as the girls ran to Aria's side.

"It's ok, Natalie. It's not our blood," Wren told her, as he smeared some of the blood that was on his chest off, "We were at the scene."

"Yes, but you both need to clean up," She told them, "Before you go over to the girl. She's seen enough blood tonight. And do find some shirts?"

"C'mon," Wren said, to me leading me towards a back room, "I have extra shirts in my locker…"

Wren brought me into the locker room, and handed me a towel. I took a quick shower, and he just washed up in the sink. He threw on his scrubs, and then threw an extra t-shirt and jeans to me before we headed back out to the waiting room. Wren put a hand on my shoulder as we walked over to where the girls were sitting. Aria was in the middle, and they were all sitting around her, Emily up on the heater behind her.

"Did you guys get any word on him yet?" Wren asked and Aria just shook her head, she was shaking in her seat, unable or just not wanting to speak, "I'll go and check in, be right back."

Wren ran off in the direction of somewhere, and I just looked at my sister. I had never seen her that shaken up, she was just sitting there, staring off into space, not really seeing anything.

"Ari," I said, "Do you want anything to eat, or anything?"

She shook her head again, and I nodded.

"Did anyone see what happened?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure someone at the party did," Spencer replied, "There were too many people not to."

"I saw it," I said and all of their faces turned up, including Aria's.

"What happened?" Spencer asked me and I shook my head.

"Aria?"

"I don't want to hear it right now," Aria said, "Maybe once he's ok."

"That's what I figured," I breathed as Wren was heading back over, "I'll be right back."

I went over and met Wren as he was halfway to the girls, and he gave me a questioning look.

"Where are you going?" 

"How is he?"

"They've got the bleeding under control," He said, nodding, "The knife's still there, but they have him under, they're waiting on film to make sure the knife's not into anything but they're pretty confident he'll be fine. A few more wounds like that, and he probably wouldn't be as lucky – it's excellent you stopped it."

"You saw it happening too?" I asked and Wren nodded.

"I wouldn't have gotten there fast enough," He said and I nodded, "I started running, but I was too far away."

"Can I have the keys to his car?"

"Here," Wren said, handing me Fitz's key ring.

"Thanks, I just want to grab something from the car."

"Ok," Wren said as he continued towards the girls.

I ran from the waiting room out to the parking lot, and popped Fitz's trunk. I had seen him throw in a sweatshirt of his and one of Aria's just after we had finished bringing boxes over to his place. I grabbed his and then shut the trunk as I headed back inside. The cops had arrived and were talking to Wren and the girls when I got back.

"Mike was the first one to him," Wren said as I handed Aria Fitz's sweatshirt.

"Here," I smiled slightly as I handed it to her, and it seemed to help a little.

"Who are you?" The cop asked him.

"Michelangelo Montgomery, Aria's brother," I told him and he nodded.

"You were at the party?" He asked and I nodded, "How old are you?"

"Yes, sir," I said, "I'm fifteen."

"What'd you see?"

I looked over at Aria and the officer seemed to follow my gaze.

"We can take it over here," He smiled slightly as I lead him over to the opposite side of the waiting room, Wren came with us.

Wren and I told him exactly what we had seen. We told him, carefully leaving out key details about Fitz and Aria's exact relationship, and that Aria had been supposedly drunk and Fitz was going to get the car for her. We told him Fitz had run to the car, and he was a friend that had been helping out since mom passed. We told him that we had seen a shadow come out of the woods near the edge of the property line. I ran over to try and help, but was half too late – I didn't see his face – and he ran off once I got over there. The cops left rather quickly, not seeming all too confident that they'd find out who did it – but we all knew who it was – A. But, they said they'd come in the morning to speak with Fitz.

Wren and I walked back over to where the girls were sitting, and Aria had put on Fitz's sweatshirt. I sat down in a chair across from them and Wren kissed Spencer's forehead, then headed off towards the nurses' station. I assumed he was going to get more information on Fitz. Suddenly, I heard Aria's phone going off, and then she threw it – across the room.

"So then," Spencer said as I got up and went and got it, putting the battery back in and powering it up, "We're all in agreement with who did this?"

"Was it ever a question?" Aria asked, and they all just kind of didn't say anything, "He's been talking about getting me away from A, it's all he's been thinking about. It's all he's been… A would have known about all of that – A did know all of that. What if this is just the beginning?"

"He's going to be fine, ok?" I said, and I ignored the taunting text from A without even glancing at it, "It was probably just a warning shot. They were pretty happy to run away once I got there."

"Mike, you were that close to A?" Aria looked terrified.

"I wasn't the target, and I had to help Fitz," I attempted to defend myself.

"You did the right thing, Mike," Emily assured me as Aria went quiet again.

"Can I have my phone?" Aria asked and I shook my head.

"Fitz took your phone away from you when we were hear for mom," I told her, "Who knows what this psycho wants to taunt you with? You're not getting it back til tomorrow. After you've seen Fitz, and after this nightmare is done."

"They've removed the knife, successfully," Wren said as he came up behind the group, "And they're working on patching him up now. He's still under, but he's going to be just fine, Aria. I'll come out and get you when they've got him in a recovery room."

"Thanks," Aria said, and he nodded as he walked out of the room, but I ran after him.

"What's up, Mike?" Wren asked and I took a deep breath.

"I was wondering," He said, "He'll be spending the night at the hospital, right?"

"Yes."

"So Aria will be too."

"I would assume so."

"I don't want to be home alone, tonight," I said, knowing that I sounded like a terrified toddler.

"I already arranged for Ezra to have his own room," Wren smirked, "I had a feeling, unfortunately you cannot stay at the hospital. However, Spencer and I and the girls, Maya, and Caleb were going to spend the night at Hanna's just to be safe. I'm sure you're more than welcome."

"Is there anyway that I can see him, before Aria?" I asked, "Before she falls all over him and all that – just see him alive, breathing – not in puddles of blood?"

"C'mon," Wren smirked said, leading me over towards a back door, "Ezra means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"He's a good guy," I said, "And with Dad going nuts and mom – gone. He's been – concerned, he checks on me. He's been …"

"A bit of an older brother?"

"He makes a point of making sure I'm ok," I said, "He always has – it's nice, I don't have many people who've taken that interest. I mean Aria's always been concerned but…"

"It's different."

"It is," I said as Wren stopped me outside of a room.

Fitz was lying on his hospital bed, with oxygen pumping through his nose. The gown and covers were covering any of the stitches that I imagined had to be nearly up all the way up his side.

"He's still out?" I asked, and Wren nodded.

"And don't worry," Wren said, "Your sister will be the only one allowed in besides his doctors until he wakes up – I've talked to the nurses and they agreed to watch who was going in and out. By the way, I should go get her seeing as they're all done. Want to come?"

"Sure."


	24. Hospital Issues

A/N: Ok, so a midst all of the crappiness that just happened within the story, hope you all enjoy this chapter… it's meant to be a little lighter… (Hint: Journey owns all of their lyrics… I just borrowed them)…

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Aria.

I walked very slowly into Ezra's room, Wren had already had a cot made up beside the hospital bed, and I sat down on the edge. It was set right up close to Ezra's bedside, but on the side he was injured. He was hooked up to an IV, Wren had explained it was just as a precaution, to make sure that all his fluids were right and for an antibiotic. The last thing he needed was an infection, but between the knife, falling on the road, and being wrapped up in sweaty t-shirts and beach towels, there was plenty of chance for something to have gotten into the wound. Then, of course, there was pain meds in his little IV cocktail as well.

He looked so helpless there, lying in the bed. His clothes that had had been wearing were folded and in bags under his bed. The hospital said he would only have to stay a couple days, but I was just waiting for him to just wake up. I wanted him to open his eyes, look at me, talk to me. I stood up, and went over to the side of the bed, brushing his hair off of his forehead and kissing it softly. Wren had made sure that the nurses had cleaned him up good for me, so that there was no blood on him.

"Aria," the nurse that Wren had trusted to tell the whole story to before he left came in, "Dr. Warnock can take that cast off for you while you're waiting for him to wake up."

She was a mothering sort of woman, I could easily imagine her with four kids under the age of fifteen that she made lunches for every day. She was mid-thirties to early forties and had 'mommy' written all over her. She was a nice, kind face. I could see why Wren would trust her.

"It's a little wet," I said apologetically, "There was pool, and… plus I don't want to leave him."

"We can bring the saw down," she smiled kindly.

"That'd be great, thanks," I said, and then went back to stroking over Ezra's hair.

Whenever he was tense, and couldn't fall asleep it relaxed him enough to do so, but it was also his favorite way to be woken up. There was only a slight variation between the two processes, the waking up one involved a little more fingernail. I kept soothing over his hair lovingly until the nurse returned with the doctor and he cut my cast off. They left almost immediately afterwards, and I went to wash my arm off before returning to his bedside.

"Aria?" I heard him call out, confused, from the bathroom, and I raced out, my arm still soaked, "Aria."

"Ezra," I said as I ran to him, and grabbed his arm.

"Ow," He said, and I realized I was on his injured side, then quickly ran around to the other side, "What happened?"

"Sweetie," I loved him so much, I just wanted to hold him and never let him go, "You were stabbed – we assume by A. You were going to get the car so we could leave, and they stabbed you. Ran a knife down your left side by your armpit to your side, then stuck the knife in. Mike saw it all happen, and ran over making them run off. Wren patched you up with towels and t-shirts until the ambulance got there."

"It hurts when I breathe," He commented, using his right hand to pull the oxygen out of his nose.

"You have forty-three stitches in your side," I reminded him, "And a knife was just recently taken from near your ribcage."

"That would explain the pain then," He smirked.

"Hold on," I said, then walked out to find his nurse, "He's woken up, and he's in pain."

"I'll find his doctor, and we'll up his morphine," She said, "In the mean time you can hit the button near his iv pole, it'll release extra morphine into his system."

"Thanks," I said, as I walked back into his room, "What're you doing?"

"I want to see," He said, he had his gown pulled up and was using his right hand to lift it away to get a look at the stitches, which were covered by a bandage and firmly taped up.

"They're going to get you more morphine," I told him, hitting the button the nurse had mentioned.

"Excellent," He said, putting his head to the right so that he could see me, "You're absolutely beautiful by the way."

My hair was a mess from worrying so much and not really caring what I looked like. I had been crying, so there was no doubt that I had mascara all over my face, and I was in his oversized on me sweatshirt. But, I smiled because of his sweetness.

"You scared me," I told him and he nodded as I pulled over a chair and sat down by his head, so that we could look each other in the eye.

"Lucky Wren was there," Ezra replied, his eyelids were starting to look heavy for him.

"Oh, babe," I smiled, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

"I'm sorry I ruined your birthday," He breathed, letting his eyes be closed.

"Oh, you didn't ruin it," I told him, "What would have ruined it would have been if you didn't wake up."

"What time is it?" He asked and I went to check my phone – then realized Mike still had it.

"I don't know," I said, "Mike has my phone."

"Mine should be in my pocket," He replied, and I went and got it.

"It's midnight," I told him and he chuckled.

"Ow," He stopped right away, but continued, "Sounds like I woke up just in time."

"I have to call Mike, he's with everyone for the night, let them all know you're awake," I said and he nodded as the doctor came in with a new IV bag.

"I heard someone was in need of some morphine," He smiled kindly at Ezra as the nurse hung it and attached it to his IV.

"Hey," Mike answered as I stood over by the window, watching them carefully, "Is everything ok? Do you need something?"

"No, everything's fine, Mike," I told him, "I just wanted to call and tell you that he woke up, he's talking – and he's tired but it seems he'll be ok.."

"Thank God," Mike said and I smiled.

"'_Strangers, waiting_,'" Ezra started singing as the doctor and nurse left, "_'Up and down the boulevard, their shadows searching in the night…'_"

"Is Fitz singing?" Mike asked me and I smirked as I looked over at him, he was completely in his own little world.

"'_Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion, Hiding somewhere in the night…'_"

"Yeah," I said, suddenly worried that Ezra was going to hurt himself without evening knowing it, "They just upped his morphine – I have to go."

"'…_everybody wants a thrill, payin' anything to roll the dice, just one more time…_'"

"Good luck with that," Mike chuckled.

"'…_.Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues. Oh the movie goes, it goes on and on and on and on…" _

"Thanks," I siad, "I'll see you in the morning?"

"Absolutely," Mike replied, "Wren said he'd drive me over first thing."

"Good."

"'…_DON'T STOP BELIEVIN', HOLD ON TO THE FEELIN'…" _

"Bye, Mike," I hung up and went over to Ezra's bedside, "Ezra, what're you doing?"

"I was singing," He said brightly and I smiled, a few chuckles escaped before I even knew they were there, "You know, I feel great, I don't even know why I'm in here…"

He went to sit up, and I held him down.

"Ez, you were stabbed," I reminded him, and he laid back down so I could let go of him.

"Right," He said, "That totally blew."

"It did," I agreed.

"You're so great," He smiled up at me like I was the sun, "You're like, exactly what I've always dreamt of. I mean minus the whole student/teacher thing, and the whole you're being stalked by a crazy psycho stalker thing. Hey, does this mean I'm being stalked too? The whole being stabbed thing?"

"Sure," I told him, and he nodded in an overtly business like tone, "Ezra, you need to try and calm down, ok? Try and get some rest."

"I should," He agreed, then tried scooting over towards the left side of the bed so that there was more space on his right, "Ow."

"What're you doing?" I asked, and he patted the bed beside him.

"You're spending the night here with me, right?" He checked and I nodded.

"Wren got me a cot," I motioned over and he nodded.

"If the beds are this uncomfortable, I'd hate to even think about the cots," He smiled and I chuckled.

"That may be so," I said, but the cops are coming in the morning to question said, but the cops are coming in the morning to question you."

"Visiting hours don't start 'til ten," He said, "C'mon I wanna snuggle you."

"I don't think it's a good idea," I said.

"Rosewood PD, showing up any earlier than visiting hours to ask questions about a stabbing they know they'll never be able to solve?" Ezra said, "Never going to happen. Let's face it, they aren't the brightest of the bunch – and they even know it."

Trying to be the one with their mind intact was hard, especially when the drugs in Ezra's system were causing him to forgo filtering things like 'I wanna snuggle you' and ranting about how great he thought I was, and just how simply adorable he was when he wasn't inclined to care about how he looked. The way he was looking up at me at that moment, with glossy eyes just waiting for my response.

"Aria, I was stabbed," He pointed out again, and I folded, slowing moving to get on the bed, "Wait."

"What?"

"In my jeans pocket, there's something for you," He said and I just looked at him.

"In the bag over here?" I asked, walking towards it.

"Yeah," He said, "It should be in the right pocket. It's your present, I was going to give it to when we got back to the apartment."

"Ezra, my birthday gift was moving in with you, and you living," I said, "I don't need a gift."

"Just find it," Ezra said, "If you still don't want it, let me know and I'll take it back."

"Fine," I said, opening the plastic bag they had put all his stuff in, and I reached into his pocket to pull out a small jewelry box, "Ezra."

"Just open it," He said as I walked back over to the bedside with it in hand.

I flipped it open and saw the necklace that was inside. There was a silver heart shape necklace inside, on a thin silver chain. The heart itself was an outline of one, like a delicate, dainty silver pen had drawn it with a calligraphy pen, and there was a beautiful crystal clear diamond embedded in the side of the point of the heart.

"Ezra, this isn't real," I checked and he looked taken aback.

"Well I hope it is," He said, "Or else I have to have a very angry chat with a jeweler. Do you still want me to take it back?"

"No, I want it," I said, and he smiled.

"I'd offer to put it on for you, but I don't think I should with just one mobile arm."

"I can do it," I assured him as I took off the necklace I had been wearing, and took that one out of the box.

I put it around my neck, and clasped it around back, laying the pendant over the sweatshirt so that it could be seen. He smiled with a certain amount of satisfaction, and a little twinkle in his eyes to see it hanging around my neck. I slipped off my shoes and carefully climbed up to lay on my side. I put one arm around him, low so that my hand was somewhere around his hip rather than risking going anywhere near his wound. He brought his right arm around me tight, and kissed the top of my head. I turned my head to look up at him as his hand formed around my ass. I was surprised, and he smiled.

"This stuff," He nodded towards his IV bag, "Is better liquid courage than any scotch I've ever tasted."

"You have no idea how much I love you, do you?"

"A little bit of an idea," He smirked back as I leaned up and kissed him, softly.

"Good night, Ezra," I turned the light off and curled up to his side, placing my head gently on his right side.

"I love you," He said, sounding much sleepier than he had a few moments before, "Sweet dreams, Angel."

He had finally found a pet name for me that I didn't detest, apparently he just had to mainlining morphine to do so. I smiled as I snuggled into his side a little bit further, and fell right to sleep. I had been worried that I wouldn't be able to, given the evening's events – but it was actually quite easy. I fell very easily into a dreamless, and A-less sleep.

"No, no I'll pay attention, let her sleep," I heard Ezra the next morning, my eyes were still closed.

"Mr. Fitz, we want to get you out of here today," I heard the nurse, "And in order to do that, she needs to know how to change your bandages. You can't do it for yourself, and you need them changed twice a day."

"It's alright," I said, forcing myself awake, "I'm awake."

I got up off the bed and walked around to the other side. I threw my hair up in a ponytail, and then noticed that the nurse had brought a bag full of gauze and bandages, it was over by his clothes. She had him lift his arm, and then slipped it out of the gown so that she could fold it over so that his bandage was in clear view.

"Now do you have a strong stomach, sweetie?" She asked and I nodded.

"I should be ok," I said and she nodded.

"Ok," she said, and peeled the bandage off of his side.

Underneath the bandage was a layer or two of gauze, which she then very slowly peeled off of him. It was soggy and red, it was too thin to be all blood – just mostly.

"Oh my God," I said as she threw the bandage and the gauze into the trash.

"Don't worry, honey," she told me, "It's mostly the antibiotic."

"Antibiotic? I asked and the nurse nodded, handing me a large bottle of some sort of ointment.

"You put it on the gauze, before you put it on the stitches," She said and I nodded, "But first you have to dab off all the old stuff. Best way to do that with a very slightly damp warm cloth."

She handed it to me, and I very carefully dabbed around hist stitches, terrigied that he was going to be in pain.

"Good," She said, "And then let it dry for a few minutes while you put some of the stuff in that tube onto the gauze."

I followed her instructions, and then she handed me the big long bandage that went over it all. Which, I very carefully smoothed over the length of the gauze below it.

"You'll have to do that twice a day and once during the night for the next week, then after that just when he gets up in the morning," She said and I nodded, "Until his appointment in two weeks to make sure he's healing up alright."

"Excellent, thanks," I smiled at her as she headed out of the room.

"What?" I asked, looking down and seeing a smirk on Ezra's face as I tossed him his dress shirt, the doctors had said they would be a good idea until his range of motion was better.

"I just thought I'd be older by the time you had to take care of me like this," He chuckled, wincing as he went to try and button it up for himself.

"Who says I will? I hear nursing homes are getting better and better," I teased him, and he smiled.

"Crap," His face dropped.

"What?"

"I was supposed to pick your dad up today," Ezra said and I took a deep breath.

I handed him his jeans over the bed sheets he was still under as I headed out into the hall. I took out my cell phone, unsure of who to call. I hadn't told anyone about dad, or why he had gone away other than saying he needed a little time away, with everything that had happened. Everyone had seemed ok with that answer, of course Wren knew where he was – but…

"Good morning," Wren said, a cheerful smile on his face as he and Mike walked down the hall towards me with muffins in a basket, "Spencer told me to bring you guys these."

"Thanks," I said, accepting it from him.

"Why're you out here?" Mike asked.

"He's changing into normal clothes," I said, "They have him pretty doped up so he can't feel all that much pain, but they say he can go home today."

"Well that's good," Mike said and I nodded.

"But he was supposed to go get dad today, and I would go but…"

"I can go get him."

"I was going to ask you to bring Ezra home, and sit with him till I got back," I said and Wren nodded.

"Or, I could do that too," He offered, "Have the cops been in to see him yet?"

"No," I said, and Mike cleared his throat, handing me back my phone.

"I think Wren should go get dad," Mike said cautiously, "I mean, unless you want too. But I think you should stay with Fitz, honestly."

"Ok," I said, glad someone else had taken me off the hook.

"Alright," Wren said, "I'll just go see if Ezra needs any help, then I'll go get your father."

"Thanks," I said, and turned to Mike.

"Nice necklace," He smiled.

"He gave it to me last night before he passed out," I grinned, and Mike chuckled.

"You mean between the Journey and passing out?"

"You guys can go on in," Wren said as he walked right out not ten seconds after he had walked in.

"Hey, Fitz," Mike said, smiling as we walked in to see him sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Hey, Mike," He said, "I owe you, man."

"Don't even sweat it," Mike said, "You ok?"

"It could have been a lot worse," Ezra told him, "I'll probably have a scar, but I'll be ok."

"You scared the shit out of Aria," Mike said, "What were you doing going off by yourself? You know the monster's out there. Why weren't you paying more attention?"

"I should have been," Ezra admitted, "But, I wasn't thinking about it."

"Mike," I said, I didn't want him upsetting Ezra.

"Knock knock," Wilden said as he creeped into the room.

"Oh, c'mon," I breathed under my breath.

"Mr. Fitz?"

"That would be me," Ezra said as Mike and sat down in the corner of the room.

"You were at the Hasting household for a birthday party?"

"Yeah, Aria turned eighteen yesterday," Ezra said, and Wilden nodded.

"And your relationship with her is…"

"Not particularly relevant," Ezra said.

"But you guys are close?" Wilden checked and Ezra nodded.

"You could say that," Ezra narrowed his gaze.

"Ok," Wilden smiled annoyingly, "Just trying to figure out who would have anything against you. Do you remember anything?"

"Sharp pain in my side and then I was on the ground. I saw a black shadow thing run away," He said, "And then Mike was there, and he called for Wren."

"You saw everything happen?" Wilden turned to Mike.

"He told the cops everything last night," I said pointedly, "It should be in the report."

"Did you spend the night?" Wilden eyed the cot.

"I didn't want him to have to be alone," I said.

"So you left your fifteen year old brother alone?"

"Mike stayed at Hanna's," I said, "With everyone else. Are you done asking questions now? Or should we discuss this interview at the station, with someone else?"

"I was just clearing out suspects."

"Mike as a suspect?" Ezra seemed surprised by the accusation, "It wasn't Mike, I think that's pretty clear."

"Wren saw me running towards them," Mike said and Wilden nodded.

"You were the only one at the party with a history of violence," He said, heading out of the room, "I'll let you recoup. If I have any more questions I'll let you know."

"Who the hell was that?" Ezra asked, as soon as he was gone.

"Wilden," Mike said, "The guys the worst kind of cop there is – and he's incredibly stupid."

"He's a jerk," I said, walking over to help Ezra up, "Can you stand up ok?"

"Yeah," Ezra said, leaning on me only slightly as he got to his feet.

"Mike can you grab the bag of bandages?" I asked and he nodded as he picked it up.

"Hold on," The nurse said, walking in with a large prescription bottle, and handed it to me, "No more than four a day. Three scattered throughout, you might want to line it up with the bandages to be safe. Also, call if you have any questions. There should be enough pain killers until his appointment."

"Thank you," I said, as Ezra winced.

"Here, Aria," Mike handed me the bag of goodies, and took my place helping Ezra, "I've got him."


	25. Life

A/N:

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Aria.

"Hey, Aria," Emily said as we were all walking out of school on Monday, "You wanna go to the Grille with us this afternoon?"

"I have to get back," I said, as they reached our cars and stopped to chat, "Ezra's all alone, and Wilden's creeping around – I just don't want him to get caught off guard."

"Wilden?" Hanna asked and I nodded.

"What is Wilden doing snooping around you guys?" Spencer asked and I shrugged.

"He was the cop that came to the hospital," I said as Mike came up to us, I had been waiting for him.

"Wilden?" Mike said, "I don't think we'll have to worry about him unless he manages to come up with something else related to the stabbing."

"Knowing A, that won't happen," Emily said and Hanna nodded.

"Ok," I said, taking a deep breath, "Either way, I have to get to Ezra, check on him. C'mon Mike, I'll drop you first. Bye Guys."

Mike got into the front passenger's seat, and I walked around and got into the drivers' seat. I hopped in, and started the car, looking around my shoulder to make sure no one was walking behind me, of course they were. It was a high school parking lot, no one watched where they were going. I turned back around to sit and wait a few minutes as Mike turned the radio on, but kept it low. I looked back again, and saw a small window in which I could pull out of my parking space.

"Do I have to go home?" Mike asked, "Can't I just come with you?"

"He's really out of it, Mike," I said, "It's not really all that entertaining, he's just doing a lot of sleeping. When he wakes up, he's hungry and he'll eat something, maybe watch something on TV and then goes back to sleep."

"Better than hanging around with dad," Mike said and I frowned.

"Mike, Dad just got home," I reminded him, turning onto the road in the direction of our house, "Give him a chance, he doesn't go back to work until tomorrow. Maybe you guys'll go do something fun."

"Why do I have to give dad a second chance when you don't?" Mike asked, "I'd much rather hang out with a doped up Fitz."

"Mike, the only reason I haven't been to visit dad is because I have to be with Ezra right now," I said, then I felt bad, and I parked the car at the end of the driveway, "I'm sorry, there's no reason for me to lie to you, Mike. I don't really want to hang out with dad just yet, but I know we both have too. I do want to be with Ezra, just make sure he's…"

"I know," Mike said and I nodded, "Dad's bringing me to my therapist this evening. Could I come by right after, just see him?"

"Sure, but make sure dad stays in the car, ok?" I asked and Mike nodded.

"There's a rumor going around school," Mike said and I just looked at him for a second.

"You know not to listen to rumors, Mike."

"It's Jason," Mike said, "He lives right next to the Hastings, rumor is he's the one who snuck over and stabbed him. He would have had every opportunity."

"Mike-" I replied, "You saw the person who stabbed him, and you know Jason pretty well. The outline you saw of the shadow – did it look like Jason?"

"No, it was too short, and too thin," He replied and I nodded.

"Ok, it couldn't have been him then, could it?"

"No, I guess not."

Mike got out of the car, and I waited until he got inside before heading over to the apartment. I parked around back beside Ezra's car that Jason had helped me bring back the day before. I stopped for a second, pulling my cell phone out of my purse and looking at the screen. I pulled up my last text from A. It had been the one that I had gotten the night of the stabbing, when Mike had taken it away it was the only one I had gotten since.

_You and your little teach are lucky. I'd keep a tighter leash on him if I were you, if he doesn't stop thinking of taking you away, I might have to take him away. ~A. _

I took a deep breath. I hadn't wanted to leave him this morning, but he had insisted while I was bandaging him up that I go to school. I had already missed to much as it was with everything that had happened in the past couple months. He had promised that he'd be careful, and would be very careful without anyone there. I had also made him promise not to open the door without checking who was there, and be careful even then about who he let in. He had seemed like he thought this was overkill, but he had promised. I had taken the spare key he had replaced under the mat, and I had put that on the counter in the kitchen.

I pulled out my key ring as I reached our door, and I walked inside. Ezra had had me help him to the couch before school, but now he was lying in bed, propped up on pillows with his laptop on his lap.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked him as I set my bag on the couch and went to sit with him on the bed.

"Just doing a little writing," He said, wincing as he set his laptop on his nightstand, and turned back to me.

He leaned in and kissed me softly.

"Are you ok?" I asked as he pulled away.

"That weak?" He smirked, "C'mere I'll fix it."

I let him lean in and kiss me again, and he kissed my nose before he pulled away.

"That wasn't what I meant," I told him, "I meant you were ok? All day? Here alone?"

"Yes, I was fine," He replied, smiling kindly though I was sure he didn't feel like it, "I'm a big boy, Aria – I can take care of myself for a day."

"I'm just worried," I told him, and he nodded.

"I got that," He replied as I unbuttoned his shirt, "What're you doing?"

"I just want to check on it," I said, moving his shirt so that I could get a look at the bandage.

"It's fine," He smiled and I kissed his chest.

"I'm just watching for extra bleeding," I told him, "If you've been moving around a lot to today…"

"Aria, I had breakfast were you left me this morning," He said, "Then, I had to pee at about noon so I went, and then made myself a sandwich for lunch. Which I ate lying right here. It's been the most boring day of my life."

"Well I could have stayed home with you." I said and he shook his head.

"You have school," He replied, "I have a phone, if anything goes wrong, I notice extra bleeding – I can call you, or the hospital for an ambulance, or whatever else I need."

"Ok."

"What's the matter with you?" He asked, wrapping the arm he had better motion in around me, and snuggling me up tight, "Why're you so worried?"

"I just am," I said, letting my face show my worry, and he kissed my forehead.

"Explain it to me," He said.

"I'm worried A'll hurt you again," I looked up at him, "And I'm afraid that Mike won't be able to scare them off a second time."

"I love you, Aria," He said, leaning down and pecking my lips again, "I – am not afraid of A, for me. I'm afraid for you. All I have to do is pay a little more attention to what I'm doing and what's going on around me. I know I'm not jacked, but the shadow wasn't all that big. If they didn't sneak up on me…. You, on the other hand—"

"What?"

"You're little, and you mean more to me than anything in the world," He replied, "Which is why I'm much more concerned about you."

"You remember everything – don't you?" I asked and he nodded.

"Just what I witnessed," He replied as I reached up and ran my fingers through the side of his hair – he let his eyes closed.

"These drugs are making me so tired," He said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"But you're not in pain, right babe?" I checked, kissing the side of his forehead as I wrapped my arms around him softly.

"No, not really," He replied, "Just when I try to turn either way."

"Well at least they're working," I said and he opened his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," He replied, smiling, "Just wanted to see your face again."

"You're adorable," I leaned in and pecked his lips again, "Get some sleep though, ok? Mike's coming by to check in on you after his therapist appointment."

"Is your dad coming?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"I figure we can tackle him once you're feeling a little better?" I asked, "I want to take it slow, talking to dad again. Maybe we can go over and make dinner once you're feeling a little better?"

"Sounds good," Ezra mumbled, drifting off to sleep.

I kissed his cheek, and then went over and started in on my homework. I kept looking up and over at Ezra to make sure he was ok, then returning to my homework. At about five, I started cooking dinner, letting Ezra continue to sleep and trying to go about it as quietly as possible. I very quickly managed to whip up his favorite meal, setting it down on a tray as I carried it over to where he was still lying down.

"That smells delicious," His eyes flickered open as I went and sat by him.

"Now that you're awake, I could help you over to the couch if you'd rather eat there," I offered and he shook his head.

"You don't have to help," He replied, very slowly trying to move to the edge of the bed, "Could you just carry the tray over for me?"

He walked very carefully over towards the couch, wincing when he had to pick up his left leg. So, he started to favor his right one as he maneuvered his way over to the couch.

"I'm so sorry," I said as I set the tray on the coffee table, then helped him as he tried to get on the couch.

"Sorry about what?" He asked as I handed him his plate.

"It's my fault A did this to you."

"How do you figure?" He asked, "This A? Is a psycho running around somehow giving the police the slip. Them getting to me is no fault of yours."

"But A wouldn't have cared about getting to you if it wasn't for me."

"Aria," He said, as I curled up on the other side of the couch, "I - Ow"

He had set his plate down and tried to move towards me, but had had to stop. I was sitting on his injured side, and he wasn't going to be able to crawl over to me.

"Could you c'mere, please?" He asked and I shifted over, to curl up next to him instead, being very weary of his stitches.

"Yes," I said, just prompting him to continue.

"I love you," He continued, "It doesn't matter-"

"But it would be so much easier for you if I was gone," I said, "I've been such a problem to you. Wouldn't it be a lot easier if I just left. If we…look at you, you got stabbed! I-"

"Aria, Aria, slow down," He said, but I didn't pay attention to him.

"… and I don't want you getting hurt like that. It would be so much easier to just…"

He took a deep breath and leaned in and kissed me, passionately, and with enough energy to take my mind momentarily off of my tirade. I put my arms around his neck and he pulled me closer, very carefully so that I was sitting on his lap, my back against the arm of the couch as he continued to kiss me. Then, very slowly, he pulled away, kissing my forehead as he leaned back.

"Are you ready to listen to me now?" He asked, and I didn't say anything, "Aria, - can you look at me for a second?"

"What?" I asked, my mind still swirling with guilt and worry as I looked into his beautiful dark blue eyes.

"Aria," He said pointedly, gazing into my eyes, "You leaving – us breaking up… whatever you're considering here… would hurt a hell of a lot more than being stabbed. I don't ever want to be without you, even if I end up being stabbed every other day. It would be less painful than not being with you."

"I love you so much," I said, and he brought himself up to kiss me again.

"So get all of that 'he'll be safer without me' crap out of your head, ok?" He said as there was a knock on the door.

"We'll talk about this later."

I got off of his lap, and kissed his forehead as I handed him back his plate. I headed over to the door, and looked out the peephole, and saw Mike standing there, waiting for the door to be opened. I took a deep breath and motioned over to Ezra to have him button his shirt up at least a little bit. Then, I opened the door.

"Hey, Mike," I smiled as I stepped aside to let him in.

"Hey," He said as he walked in, and went to sit down with Ezra, "Dad's waiting downstairs, but I just wanted to come see you."

"How is your dad?" Ezra asked, taking a bite of his dinner.

"He's Dad," said Mike, and he looked over at me, "He really wants to see you."

"It's going to be a little while," I said, picking my own dinner up off the coffee table and starting to eat too, "I'm not ready to see him again yet. So we were thinking, when Ezra's feeling better we could come over and cook for you two."

"That sounds great," Mike said, "No chance of anything before that?"

"Even if I do start to get better with the idea of seeing him again – I don't want to leave Ezra until he's feeling a lot better than he is," I said, and Mike nodded as his phone started to ring.

"It's dad," Mike said, checking the caller ID, and not bothering to answer it, "He's a little different."

"Are you ok staying with him?" Ezra asked, concern immediately flooding his eyes.

I loved the way he cared so much for my little brother, and how much Mike cared about him. It was so nice, like no matter what Ezra thought of Mike as his little brother too, and was willing to do anything for him. They had bonded nicely, and rather quickly. They just seemed to get each other right off the bat.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mike said, "It's just he's – not really dad anymore. He's a lot more relaxed."

"Really?" I was surprised.

"Yeah," Mike said, as he headed for the door, "Even more so than he was before mom died. I'll see you tomorrow, Ari."

"Good night, Mike," I said as I went to the door to shut it behind him.

I didn't bring up Ezra and I's previous conversation again that night, he was exhausted. He changed into his pajama pants and went and laid on the bed. I handed him his second pain pill and I cleaned him up, putting on his new bandage on his side. I took a deep breath as my phone went off on the nightstand. I finished the laying the gauze on his stitches before I climbed over him to get to my phone. The pill was working on putting him into a haze, that only lasted the first half hour that it was in his system – but it would probably put him right to sleep for the night.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, Spencer just told me about Ezra," Jason said, "Well, she just made it seem like I stabbed him – anyways is he ok?"

"He's fine," I said, "Thanks for the concern."

"Do your friends really think I would stab him?"

"They know you hit mom," I said, as I went back over to Ezra and put the bandage over his gauze, "They like to choose who's guilty and who's innocent, and keep it that way. They like to try and keep things as black and white as possible."

"So basically they're like everyone else in this damn town," He replied and I smirked.

"I guess so," I replied as Ezra tried to scoot himself up so he was propped up on his pillows again.

"Hey, I know caregivers do a lot," I could almost hear Jason's smile, "Can you meet me for some coffee?"

"I'm sorry, we're just getting ready for bed," I said.

"Oh, go have fun," Ezra mumbled almost incomprehensibly.

"Ezra wants you to come," Jason chuckled.

"Ezra has a pretty hefty painkiller in his system," I pointed out, "Goodnight, Jason."

"Night, Aria."

"I love you, Aria," Ezra said as I hung up and set my phone down on the nightstand.

"I love you, too, babe," I said as I got up and headed to the bathroom to quickly change into my PJs.

Ezra and I had made the executive decision to keep things as PG as possible until he was better. We didn't want to ruin it for ourselves, and at least while we couldn't do anything anyway it was good to keep up a little mystery.

"Good night, Angel," Ezra whispered as I came back and snuggled up with him.


	26. Elephants in The Room

A/N: Hey guys… thanks for all the love lately! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

After the Rainfall.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Ezra.

"Hey," I greeted my class as I walked in, "I'm sorry about the cancelled classes the past two weeks, but I am here now. And thank you very much all of you who did the emailed reading assignments, and the paper. Those of you who didn't – please schedule a time when you can come see me this week - I'm sure we can figure something out. Now… any questions?"

"Is it true Professor Montgomery stabbed you because you're dating his daughter?"

"Is it true his daughter moved in with you?"

"Do you know why Professor Montgomery's been out?"

"Is it true you were leaving his daughter's party when you were attacked?"

"What's going on with you and her period?"

"Sorry, let me rephrase that," I was surprised with their curiosity, "Any questions that have to do with the readings? Or the paper? Or in any sort of relation to this class?"

"Oh, c'mon," Eric said, "Rumors have been flying everywhere since Montgomery went away."

"Fine," I took a deep breath, "Professor Montgomery went away to deal with the loss of his wife. I am in love with his daughter, and we're together – but no, he is not the one that stabbed me. He was – less than elated when we told him, but he's never physically hurt me. I was leaving Aria's birthday party at her friend's house when I was stabbed. They don't know who it was, and they probably never will. Any other questions I didn't answer?"

"She's a little young for you isn't she?" A girl near the front asked and I took a deep breath.

"Have any of you met Aria?"

"I did once," Eric said, "She was visiting Montgomery, she's crazy smart. Sounds acts like a little old lady. Damn sexy, I mean – If I were you…"

"You can just stop right there," I blinked as if something unpleasant had been thrown into my face.

"Come to think of it, how did you land her?" I took a deep breath.

"It was love at first sight," I told him, "For both of us. And, that's where we're going to leave it. Any further inquiries about my private life, come to an office hour – no one ever does so you'll give me something to do other than grade papers. Anyways, Shakespeare…"

The rest of the class went on without any other major hiccups. I had expected a few questions about the stabbing, and perhaps a few about Aria and Byron. By now it was almost old news that we were together, and they would be wondering where Byron had gone – most of them had him for a professor too. Of course, I would be expected to know what had happened to him. Obviously, I did, I just wasn't going to announce it to the entire school that he had beaten his daughter to a crying, bloody mess.

I still wasn't exactly at the point of forgiving him for that either, but tonight was the night that Aria and I were going to go over and make he and Mike dinner. I kept telling myself I wasn't really going for Byron, I was going for Aria – she would never be able to move on if she didn't patch up whatever relationship she wanted with her father. She would never recover completely, and all I wanted was that for her. Also, I was going for Mike. He was just a kid, he needed to know that his family was just that, a family. No matter how messed up or patched up it was. He needed to know that we all loved him, and that we all had each other's backs.

"Ah, Ezra," Byron tried to stop me in the hall, but instead just ended up walking with me to his office, "I was just wondering what time you and Aria were planning on getting to the house."

"Well, her car's in the shop for routine stuff," I told him, "So I was going to leave early, and pick her up after school. That way Mike can go to practice, we can go grocery shopping, then we'll pick Mike up from practice and head over to make dinner."

"Ok," Byron said as I went to sit behind my desk, I had a few meetings with students before I had to go, "How're you feeling?"

This really was a new Byron.

"I'm doing ok," I replied, "Thanks to Aria for taking such good care of me, they were able to take the stitches out when I went in on Friday. And, I'm doing a lot better too, almost no pain at all now."

"That's great," He said, "Did they ever find out who it was?"

"No," I told him as one of my students walked in.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting," She said, and then attempted to slowly back out of the room.

"No, it's fine, Sarah," I smiled kindly, she was about as skittish as a beaten cat, but a very talented writer – I was glad she had finally agreed to meet with me about it, "Professor Montgomery was here on an entirely social visit."

"Yes, I was," He smiled at her too as he headed towards the door, "See you tonight, Ezra."

"Is it weird having to work with your girlfriend's dad?" Sarah asked as I pulled out her paper and put in out on my desk.

"It gets a little weird sometimes," I admitted, "But it could be a lot worse. Right now there're not really getting along, so… I don't know why I'm telling you this. Anyways, your paper was amazing. I made a few comments, but really they're nit-picky and… I'm sorry, I'll be right back."

I got up from my desk as Jason appeared in the doorway.

"Ezra," He said and I met him halfway, in the middle of the room.

"What is it, Jason?" I asked, "And can it wait? I'm meeting with a student right now."

"Oh, hey," Jason said, acknowledging Sarah before looking back at me, "It can, but I seriously need to talk to you, and Aria."

"Well tonight we're cooking dinner for Byron and Mike," I replied, "Why don't you just come?"

"No, it's not safe," He replied and I must have looked at him like he had about a thousand heads, "Of the two of us, who's been stabbed?"

"Good point?" I was trying to figure out what he was getting at, he hadn't said the last comment meanly, just like he was trying to get something else across.

"Fine, Aria's at school, and hasn't been answering my calls," Jason said, "So I figured I'd just come to you – but maybe I'll just try Aria again."

"We've been busy, we're just getting on track again, I'm sure she'll call you back," I said, "I'll talk to her about it when I see her later, ok?"

"It's all up to you two when you wanna meet up," He replied, "Just have her give me a call."

"Ok," I said, then went back to my desk.

I went over my comments on Sarah's paper with her, and then apologized about having to make our meeting short, but I had to go get Aria. She left the office, and I packed up – ready to head out and get to Aria. I had to admit, even driving over to the high school I was starting to get shiftier and shiftier. I was paranoid now, like I hadn't been before. This I assumed was a rather helpful survival strategy with A still running around, but it was a little obnoxious. I kept thinking I saw shadows crossing behind me.

"Have a good day?" I asked as Aria slipped into my front seat.

While I wasn't a teacher there anymore, and Aria was eighteen, and there was absolutely no legal issues around our relationship anymore, we had both agreed not to give anyone any reason to seriously question our past. It seemed to be working; with the exception of the cop no one was bothering to ask questions. There was really no point.

"It was ok," Aria said, and I nodded as I took a deep breath and pulled away from the curb.

"When does Mike get out of practice?" I asked, offering her my hand as soon as we were away from the school.

"Seven, but dad's apparently picking him up on the way home from Hollis," Aria said and I nodded.

"So, I had an interesting conversation with Jason this afternoon," I started, and she face palmed herself, "What?"

"Damn it, I was supposed to call him back," Aria told me, "He wants to meet up with us and talk about something – he didn't exactly say what, but it sounded important."

"What's going on with you, Aria?" I chuckled, trying to keep it light.

"Nothing," She said, leaning over and putting her head on my shoulder, "I'm just exhausted. I have to call Jason though, Ah, I feel so bad."

"It's ok, relax," I tried to get her to calm down, "Call him now. I'll run into the store, did you make a list?"

"I did," She said, taking it out of her bag and handing it to me, "But you have to promise, when we get home tonight you have to snuggle with me."

"I think I'll just have to suffer through," I smiled, and she grinned as I leaned in and kissed her quickly before heading off into the store.

I walked into the store and headed back towards the poultry, the first thing on the list was the chicken for the meal. Aria was sure that Byron hadn't been grocery shopping since he had been back, so there were a few other things, staples, that didn't relate to the dinner we were making – but the chicken was central to the meal. As I was trying to pick out a good looking package of chicken, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and jumped about six feet in the air.

"Relax, Fitz- that is what Mike falls you, right?" Emily said as my heart rate returned to normal.

"Yeah," I said and Emily nodded.

"What're you doing here?" Emily asked, "From what Aria's said your fridge is like take out delight."

"Yeah, now Aria's there… she's big on groceries," I smiled and Emily smiled, "But these are for Mike and Byron."

"Gotcha," Emily replied as I grabbed the package that I figured would be best for all four of us, "Hey, Ezra – if you're really still shaken up…"

"Emily, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing," I pointed out and she nodded.

"Right," She said, and I nodded.

"It was nice seeing you," I smiled, and Emily nodded.

"It was nice having you at the party," Emily said, "Usually at our parties Aria looks – out of place, lonely."

"It was fun, being there with her," I said, "Well, until the end."

"Yeah," she said and I nodded, "Nice seeing you."

I finished up the list, throwing in an extra box of cookies for them. I went through the line as quickly as possible, and then headed back to the car. Aria was already off the phone, and had been just waiting. I put the groceries in the trunk, and then hopped back into the driver's seat.

"That took a while," Aria commented as I put the car into reverse.

"Ran into Emily," I said, looking over my shoulder as I backed out and headed towards the house, "What'd Jason have to say?"

"He was as cryptic as ever," Aria said, "But I told him we'd meet up with him tomorrow night. He said he'd text me tomorrow with a location."

"He'll text you tomorrow with a location?" I repeated, not sure I believed how ridiculous Jason was being.

"Apparently?" Aria laughed a little as we got out of the car, and she carried some of the groceries in while I got the rest.

Once we got inside, we put away the groceries in all of the cabinets and stocked the fridge, leaving out what we needed to make dinner. Lemon pepper chicken, white rice, and green beans were what we were making for dinner, well Aria was making, and teaching me as she went. I couldn't really force myself to pay attention to what she was trying to tell me. As soon as she threw her hair up and had decided to get down to business, I did just the opposite. All I could do was stare at her while she went around the kitchen, in awe, as she went around preparing a fantastic meal.

"Where'd you learn all this?" I asked, once I realized I had been gawking at her without saying a word too long.

"Mom always made sure I knew how to read a recipe," Aria said, smiling, "And, this was one I used to make with her a lot when I was younger."

"Oh," I said, smiling as she shut the oven with the chicken inside, "Now what?"

"Now I got take a nap, and you wake me up in twenty minutes," She smiled, and I chuckled.

She went and curled up on the couch while I checked my email. Miraculously, some of the papers that had been due the day before had appeared in my inbox, so I had to send out a few notes to the students saying that I had gotten them. My policy on late papers was a thoughtfully relaxed one. As long was the paper was in my inbox or in my hand within three days of its due date, I would grade it normally, as long as it wasn't something the student did often. After that it was marked down for being late, and after that I just wouldn't do it. Unless of course something happened to the student and they had a legitimate excuse, or they asked me in advance and we had discussed it.

Aria started mumbling in her sleep and I smiled, my mind suddenly ripped from my reading to look over at her. She was so beautiful, and she deserved someone so much better than me, but somehow she didn't see it that way. She didn't seem to understand that she could have anyone she wanted. And yet there she was, happy with me. I woke her up on time, and she got up. She instructed me to cut the ends of the green beans off and throw them into a small pan, while she threw rice on one of the burners. She had it all planned out that everything was done at the same time, just a few minutes before Mike and Byron walked through the door.

"It smells delicious in here," Byron commented and I shrugged as I packed up my laptop off the kitchen table.

"That would be purely Aria's doing," I replied as Aria was setting everything on the table.

"Lemon pepper chicken?" Mike looked like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yep," Aria smiled, and Byron nodded.

"Thanks for this, both of you," He said and Aria nodded.

"We grabbed a few things for you guys at the grocery store, too," Aria said, "There's a loaf of bread, peanut butter, eggs, milk, and a few other staples in the cabinets. But you and Mike should go grocery shopping on Saturdays or something."

"We should," Byron nodded, as the awkwardness was starting to get to me, I could tell it was taking a toll on Mike too.

What was I there for if not for a buffer? I walked over and stood by Aria.

"Well let's sit down, shall we?" I suggested as I pulled out Aria's chair for her, "Mike – how was practice?"

"Good," He replied, getting that I was just trying to start a table conversation, "Aria, do you remember Galvin?"

"That weird kid that's supposed to be a senior with me?"

"The very same," Mike replied, "He showed up at practice today."

"Is he on the team?"

"No," Mike said, "He was just kind of hanging around near the fence. Kid gives me the creeps."

"Who is this?" Byron asked and I smiled as I picked up the platter of chicken.

The dinner went by relatively peacefully, all of us making peaceful, but useless conversation. It was nice, we all were edging around the elephant in the room, but for a first encounter with Byron since the – incident – it was working very well. Aria hadn't really wanted to get into anything that night anyways, this was just the first step. We would talk, and act like nothing was wrong – just to get the ball rolling in the direction of reconciliation. Byron looked a little disgruntled as we were leaving, but kept it to himself.

Mike was right, Byron had changed – a lot, even from the man he was before Ella died. He was never someone to hold back what he wanted to say to someone, even if it would only comfort him and hurt everyone else. He was growing, and I was a little proud of him. He was accepting that things didn't always go his way, particularly Aria. I had no doubt that he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs that Aria was to stay at the house, that she was to move home. But, he kept his mouth shut, he was finally accepting that after all Aria had been through, all he had put her through, and all the things he didn't even know about – Aria was a beautiful adult woman, before she needed to be, but nevertheless adult.

"That went well," Aria commented as we walked back into the apartment and I nodded as she flopped down on the bed, "Agh, I'm exhausted."

"Not too exhausted, I hope," I smirked as I loosened my tie and went and laid next to her.

"Why?" Aria asked curiously as she rolled over and wrapped herself around me.

I used a couple fingers to move the hair out of her eyes, and kiss her tenderly. She looked up at me, with a sparkle in her eye, and I smiled, which caused a great grin to go across her beautiful features. Within a second she was up on top of me, straddling me as she finished removing my tie for me. I brought myself up to a sitting position, and kissed the side of her neck as she went to unbutton my shirt. I had my hands glued to her sides and rotated us around as she finished unbuttoning and I shrugged out of my shirt – letting it fall behind me on the bed.

I looked down at her for just a second, marveling at just how beautiful the woman lying on my bed was. Her hazel eyes were looking me up and down, and her hair was fanned out over my pillow. Her tiny little body was overheated, and she was breathing heavily as her hands slowly worked their way up my thighs to my hips.

"Ezra," She encouraged me as she sat up to wrap her arms around my neck, and pull me down to her.

I placed a hand on either side of her head for stability, to keep most of my weight off of her. I lowered my body over hers, and kissed her feverishly and before long I had her pinned to the bed, kissing down the side of her neck.

"Aria," I stopped just long enough for our eyes to meet, and then she pulled me down again so that our lips were locked once more.

I started to tug at the hems of her shirt, and she let go of my neck, not that I was moving anywhere – to pull it off over her head. As I looked down at her, so slowly take in the view of her bra before returning to her lips. She trailed her finger tips down my chest, across my abdominals, and then held onto my sides, low near my hips as I started to kiss across her collar bone. I had one hand in her hair, and the other somewhere between the bottom of her rib cage and the top of her skinny jeans.

"Ezra," Aria was breathless, and I paused as her fingers trailed up my left side to very gingerly trace the scar line that was now there.

"Mmm, Angel?" was all I managed to get out as my fingers, almost of their own accord caressed her sensitive sides – causing her to squirm.

"Make love to me, Ezra," She breathed – I wasn't sure if it was request or a statement or what – but I didn't really care to analyze it.

She smiled as she ran her hand across the edge of my hair, her other hand finding my belt buckle and starting to work on getting it undone.

"Aria," I leaned in and kissed her gently, "That was the plan."

A/N 2: Ok, so yes I decided that the fact that this happens in the 26th chapter and the rest is extremely tame, that I should just keep it teen for the purposes of the story… I'm sure we all have good enough imaginations to read between the lines (:


	27. Rough

A/n: Hey everybody, so sorry this took so long…. I've been really busy :( but hopefully I can get back into the swing of being able to write a lot, because I miss it when I can't….anyways… ENJOY!

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Aria.

The next morning, I woke up in just Ezra's t-shirt wrapped up in his arms so carefully that I never wanted to leave. I leaned up and kissed him awake, and moved his nude form so that he was wrapped around me softly under the covers. He stroked the side of his hand down my cheek so gently that I thought maybe thought I was made of glass. He leaned in and kissed my forehead adoringly, but still so gently that he might have thought he would break me.

"I love you," He whispered and I smiled as I snuggled into his chest.

"We have to do this again," I replied and he chuckled.

"The snuggling, or…" He trailed off nervously.

"All of it," I assured him, kissing the exact center of his bare chest, then I pouted.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"We have to meet with Jason tonight," I said, and he chuckled as soon as he saw where I was going.

"It won't take all night – hopefully," He replied, "We should get up."

"We should," I replied, though neither of us made any movement towards the side of the bed.

Later, I was physically sitting at a lunch table at Rosewood High, surrounded by the girls. However, in my own mind I was about two miles away in the apartment with Ezra – and it was the night before. I just could get him, and the activities of the night before out of my head. How good he had looked hovering above me, then how amazing he had looked later with his head thrown back into his pillow. Or even this morning when his hair was all messed up and his arms were around me. All I wanted was to go find him at Hollis – just to be near him. All I could think of was spending time with him, not necessarily anything further than that. I was more in love with him than ever and I got the feeling, after how long it had taken us to get up that morning, he felt the same.

"Aria," Spencer said, calling me back to the planet Earth.

"What?" I asked, still not coming out of my haze.

"Aria," Spencer called me louder, which shook me out of it, "What is up with you?"

"Nothing," I assured her, and everyone else at the table, "I just – miss Ezra."

"Didn't you see him this morning?" Emily asked.

"And last night?" Spencer added.

"Unless you saw much more of him than usual last night," Hanna teased, they were joking, but I just looked down at my untouched lunch.

"Aria," They all said it at once.

"You guys," I blushed, looking around to make sure no one was listening into our conversation.

"How was it?" Spencer asked.

"Spence!"

"Well you can't just drop a bomb like that and then not explain," Spencer said and I shook my head as the bell rang.

"I have to get to class."

"C'mon!" Hanna said called after me and I turned around, "Is he at least coming to my party Friday?"

"I'll ask," I said, then headed off towards my class.

When I saw them later in the day, they were all much better about not asking about it. We were walking to our cars after school and they were all talking about going to the Grille later.

"You going to meet up with us, Aria?" Hanna asked, "Dinner with your friends?"

"I can't," I replied, leaning against my car as I started to wait for Mike – I had to drive him home before I headed to Hollis, "Ezra and I are hanging out with Jason tonight."

"Awkward," Hanna observed.

"Why are you guys hanging out with him?" Spencer said, "He's dangerous."

"He's not dangerous," I rolled my eyes as Mike came up.

"Hey guys," Mike said, "Sorry, were you guys talking about something?"

"No," I said, nodding towards the car, "Let's go."

"Ok," Mike said as he hopped into the front seat.

"You're just going home, right?" I asked him and he shook his head.

"We have practice at Hollis today," He said, "Coach thought it'd be good because we're playing the playoffs there. Get used to the field…"

"Ok," I said, "What time do you have to be there?"

"Half hour," He replied and I nodded as I headed towards the center of town.

"Mind if I stop off for a second?" I asked, "Ezra had to give his classes finals today – which he was dreading. I wanted to pick him up a snack."

"That's fine," Mike replied as I pulled into the grocery store.

I ran over to the prepared foods section and picked him up some of his favorite mac and cheese. Then I went and grabbed a Gatorade for Mike for practice, it was starting to get pretty warm out. I ran through check out and then headed back to the car. I handed Mike his Gatorade, and drove him over to the college sports fields, popping the trunk so that he could get his Lacrosse stuff out of it. I tooted the horn playfully as he headed to meet the team, and then I went and parked next to Ezra by the English offices.

"Who needs a snack break?" I asked playfully as I walked into his office, not looking to see if anyone was there besides him as I set the Mac and Cheese down on the coffee table.

"Hey," Ezra smiled as I finally looked over, he was getting up from his desk – a student was sitting in front of it.

"I'm sorry, I can go kill time if I'm interrupting," I said and Ezra shook his head as he gave me a quick, sweet hug – kissing the top of my head before pulling away.

"Not interrupting anything, Miss Montgomery," said the guy as he got up, "I was just borrowing your guy's ear for a few minutes before my next final. I should get going though…"

"Thanks for stopping by, Eric," Ezra said and he nodded as he headed out of the room – closing the door behind him.

"Mmm," I snuggled into Ezra, he had pulled me back into his arms the second the door closed.

"I'm glad you came," He smiled, kissing my forehead, "I missed you even more than usual today."

"I love you," I said softly as he led me over towards the couch, were we sat together.

"I love you, so much," He replied, leaning in and kissing me softly, "But what're you doing here?"

"I wanted to visit," I said, snuggling up to him as he took me into his arms, "And bring you a snack, because you have to start grading, and Mike has practice out on the college fields. And, I don't know how much time we'll get together tonight because we have to meet up with Jason."

"Right," He looked more than a little disappointed, "We have to meet up with Jason."

"I'm hoping it won't take that long."

"Me too," He replied, as I realized he was looking me up and down.

"Ezra," I tipped his chin up so that he was looking into my eyes instead.

"Damn." He said it like a statement, "Where you wearing that dress this morning?"

"I had to go while you were in the shower," I reminded him, kissing him softly.

"Right, because you know I would have remembered," He smiled, "Took a mental picture. It might've helped me out today."

"Rough day?" I asked and he shrugged as he got up, sand helped himself to fill a bowl with mac and cheese and sticking it into the microwave.

"I did not want to move a muscle this morning," He smiled, a slight twinkle in his eyes, "Then, I had to give my class their final. Which I think went ok, but it was boring for me, all I could do was sit there and replay last night in my head."

"Funny, I was doing that all day at school," I replied and he chuckled, "Spencer called me out on it."

"I think I can trump that," He said as he came back and sit down.

"Oh yeah?" 

"I had a staff meeting this morning," He said, "With your dad."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I made a bracing for impact face and he chuckled.

"It went ok," He replied, "I think I played it cool enough, it didn't help that I was late though…"

"Oh, Hanna wanted me to ask you if you'd come to her finals party on Friday," I said, and Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"Finals party?" He asked, smirking, "And how is that you girls do so well in school?"

"Because we space it far enough away from the actual tests," I told him as I set myself into his lap, and he wrapped his arms around me to hold me there, "They don't start til the end of next week."

"Do you wanna go?" Ezra asked and I shrugged.

"It's up to you."

"Well then, I'd love to go," He replied, smiling.

Just then the door to the office opened, and Dad came right in without even a knock. I jumped, right off of Ezra's lap, and Ezra cleared his throat awkwardly. Dad didn't say anything, trying to put the picture he had just walked in on out of his head as Ezra went and retrieved his mac and cheese from the microwave. He grabbed a fork off his deak and started eating, as though absolutely nothing was wrong.

"Hi," Ezra said, trying to ease the awkwardness, I loved him for it, "Aria brought me a snack so ease the grading process. Would you like some?"

"No, I was just in the hall, and I thought I heard Aria," Dad said, and I had to refrain from any eye rolling or sighing.

Of course he would hear me, this would be my boyfriend's office, would it not?

"I just had to drop Mike at practice, here," I filled him in, "So I thought I'd come visit him. Why?"

"Nothing," He replied, "I was about to text you though, would you mind dropping Mike off after practice? I've got something I have to do tonight."

"Ok," I said, not wanting to question my dad's awkward behavior, I pulled out my cell phone, "I'll text him and tell him to meet back here afterwards."

"Good," He said and then looked at Ezra, who was standing, and chowing down on his Macaroni and Cheese, "I was also just coming to ask you if you would be going to the mixer this evening."

"I can't tonight," Ezra said and dad looked surprised, "I promised Aria and Jason that I would go out with them tonight. But I will be going to the end of the year party at Jenson's on Saturday."

"Ah, the lake house," dad smiled, "You'll love it – well I better get going."

He left the room and Ezra waited for him to be down the hall before he shut the door with wide, deer-in-the-headlights like eyes.

"That was, interesting," Ezra said and I nodded, "Has Jason told you where to meet tonight yet?"

"No," I replied, checking my phone once more to see if he texted me.

"Have you heard anything from A?" He asked.

"Not much since you got hurt," I replied, "Just the usual vague threats."

"Me too," He said, but he didn't seem at all comforted.

"You think A's planning something," I inferred and he nodded – I didn't want to talk about this anymore, "So this party at this lake house?"

"I was actually going to see if you'd like to come," Ezra smiled charmingly.

"Oh sure you were."

"No, I really was," He replied, "It's the day after Hanna's party, and since everyone knows we're together anyways – I thought it might be nice to bring you. Everyone else will have their girlfriends and wives with them, why not me?"

"Why not you?" I smiled as I got up and placed myself in his arms as he put his bowl down.

"Mmm," He smiled, as he leaned down and pecked my lips adoringly, just as my phone went off in my hand.

_Meet me in the ally by the Grille tonight, don't let anyone see you go back there. ~Jason. _

I read it twice, just to make sure of what it said, then showed the screen to Ezra. He leaned in and kissed the side of my head. I did homework and he graded his finals until Mike showed up, sweaty and red-faced with his Lacrosse stick over his shoulders, and his bag on one arm. We both packed up and Ezra headed to pick us up something to eat for dinner while I ran Mike to the house. By the time I got to the apartment Ezra had dinner all ready on the coffee table with a single candle in the middle, all the lights were dimmed.

"We don't have time for Romantic, we have to meet Jason in a half hour," I chuckled as he led me into the room by my hand.

"So we have twenty minutes," He smiled, his eyes flickering up and down my body.

"Would you stop doing that?"

"What?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned that he had done something wrong.

"Look so damn sexy," I smirked.

He pulled me onto the couch with him, and kissed me until we knew we had to stop. We ate quickly, then just about ran out the door so we wouldn't be late to meet up with Jason. We got into Ezra's car, and he drove us over to the Grille, parking in the shadows across the street from the restaurant. We got out of the car and kept towards the side as we walked towards the sidewalk, aiming to keep walking far away until we got to the entrance of the ally. I looked over, briefly towards the front of the building, and froze.

My father was standing just outside of the front door, in the center of the lights that lined the front of the building with a blonde haired woman on his arm. I squinted, trying to see her clearer and started to walk towards them. What was dad doing out with some woman? Was that why he couldn't drive Mike home tonight? He had to get ready for and go out on a date? With who? Who was this woman? What was he doing dating, or even thinking about dating less than three months after mom had died?

"Aria," Ezra caught my arm, and pulled me back under the cover of the shadows, "C'mon."

"Who was that, that dad was with?"

"I don't know," Ezra said, "Was it Meredith?"

"Oh, it better the hell not be," I said and he nodded, taking a deep breath as we watched Jason walk into the ally.

"C'mon," He said and we crossed the street as my phone went off.

"A knows we're here," I announced as I read who it was from and we caught up with Jason.

"I thought I told you two to be careful," Jason said, he looked seriously upset.

"I'm sorry," I said, pulling my phone out to check the message, "I didn't expect to see Dad on a date."

_Daddy's moving on, or had he already? Better ask your cutie that one, he could probably give you a lesson or two. By the way, congrats on last night! ~A_

"What's this about, Jason?" Ezra asked, I tried not to show my anger, had Ezra known dad was dating?

"I thought they might follow you," He said, handing me a manila envelope, "Here, it's all inside."

"What's all inside?" Ezra asked and Jason shook his head.

"Not here," He replied, looking around like he thought A would actually be stupid enough to show their faces after all this time.

Why wouldn't Ezra have told me if he knew dad was dating? To protect me, I knew the answer, but why would he do that? Me being blind sided like I was tonight was a lot worse than him just coming to me and telling me.

"Take it back to your apartment," Jason continued, "Don't let anyone see what's inside, and call me tomorrow."

"Ok," I said, putting the envelope in my purse as Ezra reached for my hand.

I wasn't in a cuddly mood so much anymore, and I very carefully avoided taking his hand. I was sure he noticed, but I feigned to not notice as I looked up and Jason was gone. It was a very quiet walk back to the car, and I slipped into the front seat without a single word. He hopped into the driver's seat and started up the car.

"So what do you think is in there?" He asked, and I just shook my head that I didn't know, "Do you want to take a peak?"

I shook my head.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded.

"You clearly aren't."

I nodded again as I leaned up and turned the radio on.

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

I shrugged.

"I'm processing," I told him and he looked curious as he parked the car behind the apartment building.

"What happened?" He asked, "What did A text you?"

"Just something about dad," I said, suddenly not really wanting to cause a huge argument, "And who ever miss blondie was. Oh, and A knows about last night."

"Is that what's bothering you?" He asked, "That A knows?"

"I figured they did."

"True," Ezra said, looking over at me, still as though he was mystified by what was going on with me, "So what's bothering you? I'm good, but I can't quite read minds yet."

"How long have you known? About dad?" I asked, bringing up the text on my phone and showing it to him, "And why haven't you told me?"


	28. Braving It

A/N: Hello all, sorry about that wait… looks like Ezra's in a bit of hot water, if I remember correctly, right? Read and Enjoy!

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Aria.

Ezra went quiet, and I wondered how many excuses and thoughts were going through his head. I shook my head, appalled that he was taking so long to respond. Why would he bother come up with a lie? I was already furious with him, but apparently just telling me the truth was still out of the question. I got out of the car and headed towards the building, I could hear him behind me, but didn't bother to look around as I headed straight up to the apartment. I opened the door with my key, and threw my purse (and subsequently the envelope Jason gave us) onto the counter, and went and flopped onto the bed, facing the wall.

"Aria," I heard him come in, and pulled the covers up around me, snuggling into my pillow.

"I don't want to hear it," I finally said as I felt him getting onto the bed, I didn't have to turn to know that he was lying there watching the back of my head.

"Could you just listen?" He asked, and I didn't respond, hadn't I just told him I wouldn't, "I didn't want to bother you with it. I've never seen him with that woman, but while he was drunk and stumbling around he was hitting on every blond female student that walked into his office – I didn't see the point of upsetting you with it. I thought it was just him being drunk all the time, I thought it would go away with the booze, but I guess not. I'm sorry…"

His hand came up and he placed it onto my side. I jerked away, and then rolled over.

"You should have told me," I replied, as he reached up and wiped away the tears I hadn't realized I had shed.

"I know, I'm sorry," He replied, and I could see it all over his face, he hated anything wrong between us.

"After everything that's happened to me in the past year, you really thought _that_ was something I couldn't handle?" I asked, "My dad being an ass when it comes to that stuff is nothing new."

"I'm sorry," He replied, "I didn't think you needed a cherry on top of your miserable Sunday. Though, I still understand that I should have told you. You were freshly grieving, and everyone grieves differently – I just thought it was part of his process…I promise, next time something like that happens, or anything happens – you know first."

I just looked at him, he did really care about me, I knew that. I wasn't questioning that, I was just upset. Instead of someone that I loved telling me the news, I had been blindsided and had to block it out in order to function normally rather than being upset, and getting past it right away. I scooted over, and into his arms, and he held me close as I snuggled my head into his chest.

"Am I forgiven?"

"No," I sighed disgruntledly as I snuggled in closer to him.

"Well is there anything I could do to speed up the process?" I could hear his smirk as he said it.

He wrapped his arms around me tighter, and kissed the top of my head. He scooted over closer and pulled me closer to him, snuggling in as close as he could, wrapping himself around me. It was like he was the outer shell, and I was the little softer center.

"I love you," He breathed, playing with a few strands of my hair.

"Mmm, I guess your forgiven," I replied, looking up into his beautiful eyes.

"Well that's excellent news," He smiled against my lips, then kissed me, deeply, "So I won't be on the couch tonight?"

"Not tonight," I said and he chuckled, "I love you so much."

"You're beautiful," He smiled, brushing back my hair off my cheek and kissing my forehead affectionately.

"We should get ready for bed," I commented, looking over at the clock, and he nodded, somewhat sadly.

"And we should take a look at that envelope," He added, and I nodded – I had almost forgotten about it, "Where is it?"

"On the counter, in my bag," I told him, and he hopped up off the bed and went over to get it, kissing me softly just before he did.

"Here you are," he replied as he dropped it onto the bed, and went to close all the blinds.

I had barely picked the envelope up before he was heading back over towards the bed, stripping as he walked. He took off his over shirt, .and threw it over in the general direction of his hamper, then pulled his t-shirt off over his head. He pulled off his belt, and then sat down on the edge of the bed in just his jeans, leaning over to untie his shoes. I was momentarily distracted, watching him as he leaned over and untied his shoes.

"You going to open it?" He asked, putting his newly bare feet up on the bed as he lounged back.

"I will," I replied, scooting over to be in his arms again.

"Would you like me to do it?" He asked and I shook my head as he burrowed one arm under me, to hold me right where I was.

"No," I said, opening the envelope, "I'll do it.

I pulled out the first thing that reached my fingertips, which happened to be three photographs. One was of the back of A, as they ran away from Ezra, lying in the street. The second was the woods that was between Jason and Spencer's houses. The third was the back of a car, with a clear view of the license plate – A's getaway car. I handed each of them to him as I looked at them, then pulled out the next thing in the envelope. It was a letter, from Jason.

Aria –

I saw the attack, on Ezra, and that's why I've been trying to get together with you and Ezra. The pictures are ones I took from that night. I saw the shadow heading towards him, and ran out of my shed where I was developing some pictures – luckily I had my camera on me. I got outside just as Mike was running over to him, so I took off after A through the woods. I managed to snap a few pictures while I ran, but once we got out of the woods A had a car waiting. They had planned that attack on him down to the second. Except, as you've probably already seen, I got a snapshot of their license plate as they drove away. I'd like to help you, find out who's doing this. I know I said the only way to get away from them is to run, but I don't think that'll work. Text me tomorrow. I've been working on figuring out which Rental Car place the car was from.

~Jason

"We have a license plate," Ezra sounded impressed, and I nodded as we put the pictures back into the envelope, and he put it into his nightstand.

"We've had more solid evidence than that before," I replied, "And it's from a rental car place…"

"So maybe A didn't consider the idea of getting caught that night," Ezra suggested, but I wasn't convinced.

"Since when does A have slip ups?"

"Maybe we got lucky," He replied, as I rolled over to lay on top of him.

"We don't get lucky, A always hold all the cards," I said and he looked concerned, "A knows when and where to strike, any of us can be gone tomorrow."

"That's not going to happen," He said, tucking locks of my hair behind my ear affectionately, "I won't let A hurt you, physically. They wouldn't be able to get close enough."

"You know that's what I used to think about you," I replied, before I realized my fingertips were at his scar, "Even before you knew about A, I was doing everything I could to protect you."

I fixed the side of his hair, kissing him softly.

"Well then you did a good job," He replied, leaning into it more as I pulled away.

"Yeah, look how that turned out," I said, looking down to see his scar and he shook his head.

"Aria, this was after I knew," He said, pulling me away from looking at it, and kissing me instead, his tongue generously slipping right into his mouth.

"I got comfortable," I admitted and he nodded, "I didn't think that A, they usually warn you…"

"Aria, it's not your fault," He replied, rolling so that he had me pinned underneath him on the bed.

He lowered himself down to me, and kissed me softly as I wrapped my arms around him.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," I admitted and he kissed me,

"Well you don't have to think about it," He replied, pulling my shirt off over my head, "I'm not going anywhere. No one A, B, C, or D is going to be able to rip and drag me away from you."

I woke up the next morning in a similar fashion to as I had the morning before, and to be honest I did the whole rest of the week. Only, by Friday there was nothing I wanted more than to just take the day off and lay there with him in the nude.

"You're all done," I complained, "All we're doing is reviewing for finals."

"Aria," He chuckled, "I still have to go in today, mind you later than usual but you'd still be here on your own for a few hours. After today, we have a week left – until we have two weeks all to ourselves before I have to start teaching summer classes – and even then we'll have so much more time to be together."

"You'll be back in time to head over to Hanna's with me?" I asked and he nodded as we got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

I hopped into the shower, and got dressed in the bathroom for school, it was just easier that way. I went to the sink, and did my hair and makeup in the mirror before walking back out into the main area of the apartment. Ezra had thrown on PJ pants and was in the kitchen, making breakfast, fried eggs, while I tried to find shoes that matched my outfit. I found them, slipped them on, and then headed over to the kitchenette to sit for breakfast.

"Hey, I had an idea," He smiled, checking me out and ignoring the eggs – I smiled.

"What?"

"I throw some clothes on and drive you to school," He offered and I smiled as I sat down at the island.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"No," He replied, "But now that everyone knows about us anyways, I'd like to remind people sometimes – like when you look that great."

"You'll do plenty of reminding tonight," I said, "The eggs are burning, by the way."

"Oh, here ya go," He replied, shoveling them onto a plate for me.

"Thanks," I smiled as he shoveled the rest on one for himself.

"So you really don't want me to drive you to school?" He asked and I shook my head.

"I'll be fine," I smiled, reaching for the salt, which he handed me.

"Have you heard from Jason?"

"Not since we talked to him the other day," I said, "He said he was still working on tracing the car, he said he'd call us when he had anything."

"Mmm," Ezra said, "What if it just pops up with enough to…"

My phone went off.

"Hold that thought," I said, looking at the text on my phone, "Oh, what do you know, it's Jason: 'Harry's Rental, New York. 1-800-975-3009. You should call.'"

I looked over at the clock, and made a decision in about a second that I had time to call.

"Hello, Harry's Rental."

"Hi," I said, "A friend of mine rented from you guys the weekend of the eighteenth, and said they had a great experience. And I wanted to see if I could get the same car?"

"Hold on one second," The woman on the other side of the phone said, "Let me just check our records. We haven't had many rentals lately."

"What a shame," I said and she sighed.

"Was it an Aria Montgomery?" She asked, "I remember her coming in, she had man with her?"

"A man?" I said, then stopped myself, "One second."

I covered the mouth piece for a second.

"What'd they say?" Ezra asked.

"The only car they rented that weekend was to an Aria Montgomery," I said and Ezra's eyes went wide.

"Oh, that's a shame," I said, going back to the phone, "My boyfriend just told me he has to work the weekend we were planning on going away. I'll keep you in mind for next time, bye."

I hung up.

"A rented a car in your name?" Ezra seemed surprised.

"I told you, A never lets us have anything," Aria said and Ezra nodded, "The woman did say that the person they gave the car to went in with a man."

"A woman and a man?"

"Which brings us so much closer," I was discouraged, and Ezra nodded.

"Just go to school," Ezra smiled reassuringly.

"Is that an order, Mr. Fitz?" I replied playfully and he chuckled as I hopped down off the stool, and he wrapped his amrs around me.

"I can make it one," He kissed me softly, then ushered me over towards the door, handing me my bag as he did so.

I smiled, and headed to school. School was relatively boring, as per usual – though since Ezra and I had come out as a couple together there were usually more than a few whispers that followed me around in the halls – more since my birthday party. I didn't let it bother me a lot, as it was just much easier to surround myself with my friends and not give them much notice. It wasn't really mean, per say, whatever they were saying. I just figured that eventually they'd get bored with us and move on to the next hot gossip, our relationship wasn't changing in the near future.

I went to the Grille for a bite to eat with Emily, Maya, and Spencer after school. By the time I got back to the apartment, I had just enough time for a little studying before I hopped in the shower, and got ready for the party. I had slipped into one of my favorite dresses, and was heading over to the mirror to do my makeup and hair when Ezra walked into the apartment.

"Hello, beautiful," He came up behind me and pulled my hair back, kissing the side of my neck, "What time's the party?"

"Eight, but I told her we'd show up early and help set up," I said as I turned around to look at him, "Ready to go?"

"I'm still dressed from work," He smiled and I did too.

"You look amazing," I said and he shook his head.

"For a party?" He said and he shook his head, "I'll just change real quick – I promise it won't be longer than ten minutes."

"Fine," I rolled my eyes as he ran to wash up, and I went to the kitchen to grab the bags of chips I told Hanna I'd bring.

He came running back out to the main living space in jeans, a t-shirt and that amazing blue zip-up hoodie, pulling his shoes on as he came towards where I was.

"Tada," He said, and I smiled, "What?"

"Nothing, you just look really good in that hoodie," I said, and he smiled.

"Good enough to show up with you?" He smirked and I tossed him a couple bag of chips.

"Of course, if you carry these," I said and he laughed as we headed out the door.

"Ah, so I'm the chip guy," He chuckled as we headed to his car.

We pulled up to Hanna's and only Emily's and Wren's cars were in the driveway, Ezra parked right at the end of the driveway, just up on the curb. We had to get up early in the morning to get to the lake house party. We weren't exactly sure whether dad was bringing his new girlfriend, but we were carpooling so we'd find out right in the morning, bright and early, whether or not he was.

"Aria! Ezra!" Hanna said happily, Caleb and Wren were sitting at the island with a beer each.

"Oh, I get to drink tonight," I said, happily looking at Ezra and he chuckled.

"If you want to," He replied, "But you do still have to wake up at seven."

"A little then," I smiled as he shook his head, and Spencer walked in, all tangled up in streamers.

"Ah, let me help you with those," Ezra said as he and Wren got up to untangle her.

"I swear these things just want to strangle me," She said, clearly put out and I chuckled as my phone went off and I went to check it.

_Better keep that teacher-boy of yours close tonight…teehee no hard feelings right? Have fun, I know I will. ~A_

"There you are," Ezra smiled as he put the streamer he had been working on down on the counter as I sipped my drink and everyone else seemed to go off to do something or the other, "You ok? You look sick."

"Just nervous," I replied, and he gave me a sympathetic look before wrapping me up in his arms from behind, kissing my cheek softly.

"Mmm, I'm sorry," He replied as I spun around to face him.

"Stay with me tonight, ok?" I requested, and he nodded.

"I will be by your side the whole evening," He assured me, then leaned in and kissed me softly.

"Mr. Fitz!" Mona said, smiling as she and a big group of people from school walked in, including Noel and Jenna who looked less than pleased, "I'm so glad you've recovered."

"You're braving another party?" One of Noel's friends asked and Ezra nodded.

"What're you guys doing here?" I asked, mostly just Noel and Jenna as the rest of them dispersed into the group, "I didn't think you were invited."

"The whole class was invited," Noel smiled in his usual fashion, and Ezra looked like he could sock him, "Why shouldn't that include us?"

"Because you two just shouldn't be here," Wren said, walking out from one of the other rooms, "We've had enough party drama for a few months."

"Yeah," I got up angrily, "You might know something about the last party we had."

"How would we?" Noel asked, "We weren't invited."

"You should just go," Ezra said, looking right at Noel, the back of his hair standing just about on end.

"Fine," Noel replied, "C'mon Jenna."

"Wait," I said, walking over to them, despite Ezra trying to catch my hand and hold me back, "Jenna, just so you know – I'm not letting you or your creep boyfriend take anyone else away from me."

"Better keep your eyes open then, there are an awful lot of people to watch, aren't there?"


	29. WHAT

A/N: So… It's been a while… HI guys… anyways sorry about the long wait…I've been really busy all of a sudden, hopefully I'll have time to update again soon… hope you guys like the chapter!

After the Rainfall

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Ezra.

I got out of the shower on Saturday and threw on a pair of khaki shorts, a light colored polo and sandals. The party we were headed to for the end of the year was a low profile affair, our bathing suits were in fact already packed and waiting for us in the living room. The night before we had been at Hanna's for a party, and Aria had nearly demanded that I stay by her side all evening. It wasn't like I was complaining, or confused as to where she was coming from, I was more concerned for her than anything. I wanted for her to eventually be able to let me out of her sight, but right now I understood that she was worried. It wasn't like I wanted her very far from me either.

"Aria, my love," I said, walking out of the bathroom, fixing my hair on the fly as I walked back out to the main room.

"Mmm," She responded, rolling over in the covers, further twisting herself up as I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Angel," I reached in and brushed the hair out of her face with my hand, she rolled over to be looking up at me, "C'mon it's time for you to get up now."

"Why did you let me drink so much last night?" She asked as she sat up and I chuckled as I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Because I'm your boyfriend, not your babysitter," I smiled as I got up and went to make her breakfast.

Within the hour we were heading out the door, beach bag in hand, to go pick up Byron, and possibly a guest – and possibly Meredith. From what I gathered, this was the woman, student, that he had cheated on Ella with. However, this was not one of the students that I had witnessed him flirt with since Ella had passed away. Aria was unusually silent all the way to the house, like she thought if she didn't say anything, it wouldn't happen. Mike had a lacrosse game in a different state today, he had slept at a friend's so the mother could drive them to the bus earlier that morning.

"Aria," I said, as we parked outside the house, up on the edge of the grass, because there was a car in the driveway neither of us recognized, "It's gonna be ok."

"It's not," She shook her head, "If she says one word—"

"Aria," I repeated myself, "Please, it's a half hour car ride. I would rather it be awkwardly silent than have it be a shouting match. Once we're there we can distance ourselves from them, ok?" 

"How dare he bring her…"

"We don't even know if it's her yet," I pointed out, hopefully to calm her for the next few minutes before Byron actually came out.

"So Dad seeing more than one girl socially is a good thing?"

"No," I guess that didn't help out as much as I had liked, "Aria, look at me."

"Yes?" She asked.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

"Well then listen to me when I say that today is going to be fun – not matter who your dad's brought along," I told her, "And on the way there, we'll listen to music so loud that if they try and talk to us, we can pretend we can't hear them."

Aria leaned in and kissed me softly, like she was thanking me for what I had said. I smiled as she pulled away, but noticed over her shoulder that Byron was coming out of the house, with none other than the woman he had been with a few nights ago on his arm. I took a deep breath, knowing that it was in fact Meredith who would be joining us for the day. The second that I pulled away from the side of the road I turned on the radio, loud enough for Aria to have a reason to sing along, and not think about who was in the backseat.

I pulled up to the house, and parked amongst the other cars in the driveway. We got out, and headed towards the door, I had a bottle of Tequila in one hand, for the host as I took Aria's hand and started walking up towards the front door. Byron and Meredith were behind us, but I tried to hurriedly usher Aria into the house. We then went outside to where my buddy Mark was standing with his girlfriend.

"Hey, Ezra," Mark said as Aria and I walked over, Aria on my arm playfully.

"Mark," I reached over and shook his hand.

"You must be Miss Montgomery," Mark smiled at Aria, reaching over to shake her hand, "Between this guy and your father I don't think I go a day without hearing about you."

Aria smiled charmingly as Mark nodded toward his girlfriend.

"This is Aimee," He smiled, and she smiled.

"Nice to meet you guys," Aimee said and Aria smiled, "So you're Professor Montgomery's daughter?"

"I am," Aria said it like it was a better thing than either of us knew.

"That must be awkward for you," Aimee was looking at me now.

"Naw, it's fine," I said, trying to keep it a polite conversation, "We actually get along pretty well, at least on the surface."

"What's awkward is the fact that he brought a date," Aria replied and Mark's eyes expanded to about three times their normal size.

"He seriously brought a date?"

"Why is that…" Aimee asked.

"Because Aria's mother only died a couple months ago," Mark told her and she nodded.

"I'm sorry," Aimee said to Aria, and I smiled kindly.

"It's fine," Aria told her, and I put my arm around her, "Is that a paddle boat?"

"It is," I said, "But I don't think we're supposed to be in the lake yet."

"I believe they want to feed us first," Mark said, and Aria nodded.

"Hey, kids," Byron's booming voice showed up at the circle.

"Hey, Byron," I said, looking to Aria, who looked a tad like a deer in the headlights.

"Ah," Aria said and I nodded.

"We should go find that," I said as I ushered her away from the group, up into the house.

"Thanks," Aria said as we walked into the kitchen, where the hostess was running around getting everything ready to be put onto the grill, "Can I help you?"

"Of course!" She smiled and I excused myself to go to the bathroom.

I came out and the food was out on the grill, but Aria was in the sitting room with a couple of professors she had apparently recognized.

"…It's so nice that Byron brought you along today," The woman was saying and I swooped in and put my arms around her waist.

"She was actually kind enough to accompany me," I corrected her much more politely than Aria would have.

"Oh, well that's lovely too," said the woman, clearly taken of-guard.

"Angel?" I said in a slightly more affectionate way than usual, "Want to go out to the lake?"

"Of course," Aria smiled, nodded to the woman and everyone else in the room.

I took her hand and led her back outside on the other side of the lawn. Mark and his girlfriend were sitting on the dock, apparently deep in conversation, so I figured I'd just let them be as Aria and I headed over to the edge of the water. The food was all set out up on the deck, but I wasn't really all that hungry yet, and I had the feeling Aria wasn't either. I put my arm around her as we came up near a canoe resting on the shore. Aria had had a corner eye on it since we had arrived.

"You want to go out on it?" I asked following her gaze, "I'm sure the Jensons won't mind."

"I don't know anything about canoes," Aria replied, "I'd probably sink it."

"No you won't," I replied, grabbing the paddle, "C'mon let's go."

"And how is it that you know how a canoe works?" Aria really was adorable some times.

"Because," I said, kicking off my shoes, she stepped out of her flip flops and I pushed the canoe into the water, "My mom made me and my brother learn. It was part of some socialite thing she was putting on when we were younger."

"So you know how to work this thing?" She asked as I gave her a hand into it.

"I do," I replied as I hopped in too, and sat down.

I smiled, as I took my Aria on a romantic little loop around the little lake. She was smiling the whole time, and the way the sun was gleaming off of her hair made me want nothing more than to be the man that she was gazing at, which she was. It was nice, to be out there on the lake where it was, and only could be just the two of us. I could tell by the look in her eyes and her smile that A was far from her mind, which was all I would ever try to do. As I started rowing into shore Mark came out and met the canoe, dragging us in the rest of the way.

"You two have a nice time?" He teased as Aria and I climbed out and I helped him beach the canoe.

"We did," Aria said, slipping her flip flops back on as I went over to grab my scandals, she looked to me, "You about ready for some food?"

"Definitely," I looked to Mark, and he was already helping Aimee into the canoe.

I smiled to myself, took the hand of my beautiful girlfriend and walked her up towards the deck where everyone was sitting around deck tables. Their plates were high with burgers, hot dogs, and eighty different kinds of salad. I spotted seats for Aria and I, she went to sit down while I went over to the grill to grab us some food while she sat down. I brought over our plates, and handed her hers and she smiled.

"Oh, thanks," She said and I nodded as I sat down and started to eat.

"Hey, Ezra," said one of the older professors, one that usually spoke with Byron as he and his wife sat down with Aria and I, "Hi, Miss Montgomery."

"Hey," Aria apparently recognized them, so we had a nice polite conversation for a while as we ate.

When we were just about done, the older couple walked away towards the lake while Aria took our plates to get rid of. All of a sudden I heard her phone going off in the seat next to me, and I looked over at it quickly. All I could see was *unknown* on the ID and I rolled my eyes. I wanted to snatch it, and delete it before Aria could see whatever it was saying to Aria, but she was already heading back. She picked up her phone, and read the message – as all of the color drained from her face.

"Aria," I said and she shook her head.

"Don't worry about it," She said, slipping her phone into her pocket.

"Ok," I said, and she nodded.

"Let's go swimming."

"You want to go swimming?" I asked, I was a little confused.

"Yeah," Aria said and I nodded, still slightly bewildered.

So we went out to the car and got our bathing suits, went into the house and changed, then headed down to the water. By now Aria had regained some of her color and was beginning to act a bit more normal. I splashed at her playfully as we walked into the water, and she laughed as she slid into the water with so much power and beauty that I had to follow. We got out over our heads and were treading water when I realized that Byron and Meredith were on kayaks not too far from where we were in the water. I didn't even have time to think once I had seen them, I turned to Aria and she was gone, underwater.

I watched as she swam over under Meredith, who was still in her clothes, and tipped over her kayak from underneath. Meredith screamed as she fell off the side of the kayak, and I saw Aria once again beneath the surface heading back towards me. Meredith was struggling, and spitting, and splashing around in the water. A terrible idea occurred to me, Meredith didn't know how to swim. Byron was too far away, he was trying to get there but he had wandered off towards the other edge of the lake.

I took off towards her, which I'm sure was a surprise to Aria. If she didn't know how to swim, why hadn't she worn a life vest? Trying to show off for Byron? I got close enough to throw an arm around her and drag her in to where she could stand. I let go of her and then gave her a weird look. By now Byron was approaching us where we were standing.

"Thank you so much, Ezra," She said, and I just nodded.

"If you don't know how to swim, you wear a life vest," I told her, annoyed, "There are about six up on the sand."

"I wouldn't have needed one if that brat hadn't decided to tip me over," Meredith replied as Aria stood a few feet away.

"Aria," Byron looked shocked, and glared over at Aria.

"How was I supposed to know she couldn't swim?"

"You don't just go over and tip someone, sweetie," Meredith replied condescendingly, "Anyone over the age of twelve knows that one."

"Hey," I was mad now, "You don't talk to her like that."

"Oh, I'll talk to her any way I want," Meredith had fire in her eyes, I went over and wrapped an arm around Aria.

"You fucking bitch," Aria replied and I took a deep breath.

"Come on, Aria," I took a deep breath as I started ushering her away from the situation, "You two can call a cab, right?"

I didn't wait for an answer, Aria and I didn't even take the time to change. I loved Aria, more than anything – but I couldn't really understand what had just happened.


	30. Green Monster

A/N: Hey guys… trying to be a better updater :) (and in the meantime I kicked off a series of oneshots… It's called The Space Between)…. read. Enjoy. Review.

After the Rainfall

Chapter Thirty:

Aria.

"Why'd you do that?"

It had been a pretty quiet ride home from the lake. Ezra had, of course, had to ask why I had done it, but I sat in silence. The truth was, I wasn't entirely sure what the final reason had been. Sure, if anyone in the world deserved to be tipped it was Meredith, especially in that situation. There was no excuse for her sometimes. There was no doubting the catharsis that I was feeling even then as I sat in the silent car. There was no trump that Meredith could pull, no matter what happened, she had been humiliated. Sure, I didn't know that she wasn't able to swim, but she was fine. The problem was now the fact that I didn't know if I did it for me, or for A under strict demand.

Of course the text I had gotten earlier was from A, giving me the usual ultimatum. 'Tip Meredith or I hurt someone you love' this time it had been Mike, but it could have just as easily been Ezra or dad. It was the fact that I hadn't known how to answer him that scared the shit out of me. I couldn't admit to myself, or to Ezra that I had wanted to do something that A demanded, could I? That must have made me the most horrible person in the world. I wanted to show him the text message, blame it all on A. I hadn't wanted to do it right when I got the message, after all. It wasn't that I cared about Meredith, it was that I was scared of what it would do to my relationship with dad. I didn't want him to hate me, but somewhere between getting the bathing suits and getting into the water – I was angry.

I was angry that he had brought her with him, just months after we had lost mom. I was mad at him for what he and Meredith had done to mom, and what dad had convinced me to do to keep it from mom. In the second, I didn't care if Dad hated me, because he obviously did already if he was willing to put himself first all of those times before.

"You're not going to answer me," He replied, he was mad – I didn't blame him, it was childish – I had probably embarrassed him as much as Meredith.

That was probably part of A's original plan.

"I'm sorry," I told him, "For anything you might take for that. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Aria," He said, "This isn't about me… I just don't understand why you would do something like that—"

The rest of the car ride was silence, and when we got to the apartment I went and took a shower. When I got out, I put on my PJs even though the sun was barely setting in the window. I watched TV while Ezra took his shower, and I opened the text from A, I read it over a few times. My little spat with Ezra could be over and buried with one simple showing of a screen, he would forgive me, even feel bad for me. Yet there was a part of me that knew that this situation was way more complicated than that.

I took a deep breath as I heard him come out of the shower, and I got up. He was just in sweatpants and gave me a weak smile as he passed and headed into the kitchen for a snack. I got into bed, and laid there for a few minutes. Before long I heard him walking over, feigning sleep I heard him walk over to the bed, and then this footsteps trailing away from it. I opened my eyes to see him with his pillow, walking towards the couch.

"Seriously?" I said, not angrily – just surprised, as I sat up in bed, "You're going to sleep on the couch? You're so mad at me that you don't even want to share the bed with me? What? Are you repulsed by me now? You can't even manage to stomach lying next to me?"

"Aria, I didn't say any of that," He replied, but I could see what little temper that he had starting to come through, "I just figured given our current state we'd both be more comfortable like this tonight."

"Why would I be more comfortable with you over there? How would you be more comfortable on the couch?" I asked, "The couch is nice, but it gets rough after a while. And I'd much rather you be in bed with me, I understand if you'd rather not snuggle, but I at least want you next to me."

"Fine," He replied, waked over and putting his pillow back, lying down next to me carefully.

"Is this how it's going to be?" I asked, rolling up on my side as he just laid there staring at the ceiling.

"I hope not," He replied, looking over at me, his eyes told me that he was irritated with the situation too, "I just don't know why you wouldn't tell me."

"Because I don't know, ok?" I said, "I don't know why I did it."

"Ok," He said rolling to his side to face me properly, "That's an answer, that's all I wanted."

He opened up his arms and I slid into them so easily it was like falling into some weird alternate reality. I smiled as I snuggled up to his side, placing my head on his chest as he draped his leg over me, holding me as sweetly as he could. I took a deep breath.

"I got a text from A, telling me to flip Meredith," I said, "The thing is I don't know if I did it because A told me to, or if I just wanted to."

I finished talking before I looked up and over at him. He simply looked down at me somewhat seriously, constricted his arms to hold me tighter, then kissed my forehead. I smiled weakly up at him and he just started to laugh.

"What?"

"The sight of her flailing into the water," He managed to get out between his chuckling.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to sleep now."

I rolled over and faced the wall, and I heard him stop laughing as he rolled closer to me. He draped one arm over my side, and snuggled me tight, kissing the side of my neck just before pressing the side of his face to my back.

We didn't hear from Dad, or Meredith the next day, but we picked Mike up and spent the day over by the lake. Spencer, Emily, Maya, Hanna, and Caleb met us there, Wren catching up with us after work. It was a nice, peaceful, drama-less day. I had almost forgotten what that was like. Spencer was all in talks about where she was looking at schools and I just exchanged looks with Ezra. For me it was between Hollis, NYU, and BU.

I was walking into school with Mike on Monday when I saw Jason's car pull up to the curb. I waved for Mike to go ahead into school as he got out of the car and walked around to lean on it. I walked as quickly, and as nonchalantly as possible over to him, and he didn't say a word – he just opened the passenger side door for me to get in. I hopped right in, and he went around to the driver's side, pulling away from the school. I texted Spencer.

_Hey, looks like I'll be at least late for school. Let me know if I miss anything in the reviews. ~Aria_

"So what's going on?" I asked as he drove towards the edge of town.

"I found something," He replied, "And while I'm looking into this as far as I am I'd like to keep someone in the loop."

"Understood," I said.

"I took a trip up to New York this weekend," He said as he got onto the highway, throwing a folder from the backseat onto my lap.

"What's this?"

"I stole the security tape from the rent-a-car place," He said, "I did a little research, they have to keep them two weeks."

"So what's in here?"

"Something you should see," He said, "I haven't finished watching the tape, but there were already a few familiar faces that popped up."

"Really?"

"Open it up," He prompted as he pulled into the alleyway behind one of the building, he kept looking over to make sure no one was around.

"What am I opening?" I asked and he just looked over at me.

"Open it, Aria," He replied and I did as I was told.

I slipped the photographs out of the envelope to see a picture, clear as day, of Mellissa and Peter Hastings standing in the rental car place, time stamped the day Ezra was attacked with plenty of time to get back to Rosewood in time. I could feel my jaw hanging low.

"The Hastings were in New York that weekend," I said, "They had even given Spencer permission to have my party there that night."

"Why would the Hastings need a rental car if they drove to New York?"

"Where was Mrs. Hastings?"

"I have a feeling they don't tell her much," He replied.

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that Peter Hastings is my father," He replied and my eyes must have expanded to about three times their normal size, "She didn't know until I figured it out."

"How did – how come Spencer hasn't told us?"

"Because she doesn't know," He replied, "I was going to tell her, but then she decided in her head I was the enemy. I might as well let her keep me as the enemy until I can hand her a real one. What are big brothers for?"

"I guess so," I said, "Wow."

"The Hastings family is covering up way more than some dirty laundry," He said, "And that picture proves it."

"We don't know that it was them."

"I'll keep watching the videos," He replied, "But I think it definitely might be. The stature of the attacker the night your boyfriend was stabbed, fit Mellissa."

"Mellissa's pregnant, she's not running around stabbing people in the middle of the night," I replied and he shrugged.

"I don't know," He said, "All I can see is what's put in front of me."

"You sound like a lawyer resting your case," I replied and he shook his head.

"I'm only trying to make sense of it all," He replied, "Keep all of this to yourself, ok? Don't let anyone know you know anything about what I'm doing?"

"What about Ezra?"

"There was a reason I nabbed you from school, Aria," He said and I rolled my eyes.

"He got stabbed and was nearly gutted like a fish," I replied, "He's got nothing to do with A."

"Nearly gutted like a fish," Jason said, "I don't know anything. From what I know about him Ezra's a good guy but how much do we really know about him? Just keep it to yourself, that way no one finds out that you know anything, and you and Ezra stay safe."

"I know that he loves me," I said, more than slightly perturbed, "Anything else?"

"No, I just wanted to keep you up to date."

"I don't like that I'm not allowed to tell Ezra."

"He won't even know that there's anything to know."

"He's smart, Jason."

"So I keep hearing," Jason replied, "If he ends up asking something about you coming with me today instead of going to school, just tell him I was ranting about something weird again or make something up."

"Fine," I said, still not liking it at all.

"It's for your own safety," He said, as I reached for the door handle, "The less people think you know, the better."

"Right," I said, not sure if I was being sarcastic or not as I got out of the car and started walking back towards school.

That night was Mike's last home lacrosse game before the end of the season. I was sitting in the stands with Ezra on my right and Spencer and Wren on my left. When they called to see if we wanted to hang out, maybe go out to dinner I asked if they wanted to go to the game first. With the lack of anything else to do, they agreed and I was happy because I would need the back up, and emotional support if dad were to show up. We were all going out, and possibly taking Mike with us, to dinner after the game. Dad had shown up, but he had very quietly taken a seat in the bottom corner, as far away from us as the bleachers went, and without Meredith.

"Hey," Ezra whispered in my ear as everyone cheered for Mike getting a goal, "You're within a hundred feet of your father and nothing's exploded – the world isn't ending."

"That's alwayrs a plus," I chuckled good naturedly back and he smiled as he leaned in and kissed me quickly.

"I love you," He said as the field was cleared and the stands were starting to empty.

"I love you, too."

"Oh you two stop being so mushy," Wren teased, and Ezra leaned in and kissed the side of my head.

"Never!" He protested.

"So why were you late for school this morning?" Spencer asked, and I froze – on the inside.

"Oh, something came up," I replied smoothly.

"Mike said—"

"It was nothing," I replied as we reached the bottom of the bleachers.

"Hey, how's everything?" Dad asked as he approached awkwardly, saving me from the weird looks I was attracting from Ezra and my friends.

Wren and Spencer headed off to the parking lot to wait for us.

"Ok, Byron," Ezra said, "We were wondering if we could bring Mike to dinner with us – sort of make it a celebration."

"You know, I don't think so, Ezra," He replied, and I took a step back.

"Dad, c'mon it's dinner," I said and he shook his head.

"No," He replied, but was still staring straight at Ezra, "I may have messed things up, but this is still my family. I want Mike home tonight, I want Aria home tonight, too but something tells me that's not going to happen."

"No, it's not," I said as Ezra swallowed uncomfortably.

"Part of this arrangement was a deal where we spent time together," He said.

"That was before you started dating Meredith again," I said, "And that was when I felt comfortable again, remember? You've done nothing in our limited interactions to make me feel like you care at all—"

"Enough," He cut me off, "Outside of school, the only way you can see your brother is at home, when I'm there. I'll drive him to and from school, and practices."

"Do you honestly think this is going to help anything?" I asked as Ezra took a step back behind me.

"And I don't want you hanging out with him at all," Dad said to Ezra and I wanted to scream, "I don't want him getting attached to you, at all. Not even at his games."

"He already is," I protested as Mike came up, his bag over his shoulder and stick in hand.

"Hey, Fitz," He said excitedly and Ezra nodded to him, "What's the matter?"

"I'd let dad explain – but he might decide to twist it so that it sounds like I don't want to see you," I told him, through near tears, "Dad's decided that in order for me to see you, it has to be at the house when he's home. And, he's going to drive you everywhere you need to go. Oh, and Ezra can't hang out with you, at all."

"What? That's ridiculous," I saw Mike's face go from confusion to rage, "Why the fucking hell are you making me pay for your mistakes?"

"We have to go, Mike," I could feel tears starting come down my cheeks, and Ezra's hand on my back for a split second before I went to hug my brother, "I will call you, every night. Unless someone'd like to monitor those too."

Dad didn't say anything.

"This is so unfair," Mike too looked like he was going to cry.

We both knew that even if I could bring Ezra I would only be able to come over for maybe a couple hours a week. Without Ezra I didn't feel safe enough to even walk into the house, never mind stick around and chat for a couple hours. Ezra stepped up and gave Mike a quick hug before putting his arm around me and ushered me towards the parking lot where Spence and Wren were waiting for us.

"Is Mike coming?" Spencer asked.

"No," I said, fully aware that I was still in tears.

"Aria, C'mere," Spencer said, opening her arms up to me for comfort, "What happened?"

"Dad said I can't see Mike unless it's at school," I tried to pull myself together, "Or at home, while he's there – but Ezra can't come. But there's only like a week left of school."

I was glad that no one else was in the parking lot, and by the look on Wren's face versus Spencer's, Wren was the only of the two who really knew what this meant.

"Well that's not so bad," Spencer said, "Your dad's probably just upset that you've moved out. He'll come around eventually, Mike and Ezra will be able to catch up."

"He has no right to be upset," Wren chimed in and Spencer gave him a strange look, but Ezra nodded.

"He has no right to be anything, as far as I'm concerned," Ezra said and Wren agreed.

"You could have so easily taken Mike away from him," Wren said to Ezra, "I would write you a reference myself."

"That's not what anyone wants," Ezra said, "Plus I don't know that that would be the right thing either."

"What's going on?" Spencer looked to me as she let go of me, and I went straight back to Ezra's – rather furious – side – she turned to Wren, "What do you know?"

"Nothing," Wren panicked and I took a deep breath – no more lying.

"It's ok, Wren. I can tell her," I said, "But not here, let's head back to the apartment? We can all chat there, order some take-out."

"Ok," Spencer said and Ezra nodded as he ushered me away towards the car.

They followed us over to the apartment, and I called in for Chinese on the way. Before we even walked in the door we sent Ezra and Wren to go pick up the food, while Spencer and I talked. We sat on Ezra's couch and caught up for a minute, she asked about how it was living with Ezra, how the party on the lake went. I told her it was nice, living with Ezra, peaceful, and a nice change given everything that had happened. Then, I dove right in, telling her about dad's alcohol abuse, how Ezra and I had basically been on our own with Mike, the real way I hurt my arm, why dad was away for a while, and why I had moved in with Ezra – why dad had originally agreed to it. Then, in light of my conversation with Jason, I filled her in on what Jason had said about the crash, I didn't want her to think of him as the bad guy, because he wasn't.

"Yikes," She said, "So that's why you were late to school? He had something on A?"

"Yeah," I said, "But it was pretty much a dead end – he didn't really have all that much information."

I hated lying to her.

"Do we ever?"

"Not really."

"And maybe your dad's jealous," Spencer said, "Of Ezra."

"My dad? Jealous of Ezra?"

"Mike looks up to Ezra, adores him – and not so much your dad," Spencer said, "And you said part of the deal was that you would get to know him again…"

"Spence, he kinda killed that—amongst other things."

"I'm just saying."


	31. Weird

A/N: Hey guys! I am going to try and be better… promise :) It's just so chaotic lately….sorry it's late...

After the Rainfall

Chapter Thirty-One:

Ezra.

I walked into my office the next day, still seeing red – and praying that I did not come across Byron the entire day. That was part of the reason that I had arrived to work so early, that and Aria had been anxious to get to school – She had texted Mike and told him to get there early. That way they could do homework together in the library. I looked at the calendar that was hanging behind my desk, where I had marked off all of Mike's games. They were all over now, but it still stung. Byron was going to have to relax on this right? I wasn't going to have to wait until he was eighteen to see and talk to Mike again, was I?

"Knock, Knock," Meredith appeared in my doorway and I rolled my eyes.

"What is it?" I asked shortly, "I don't really have time to chat, I came in early to correct papers."

The second part was a lie, but I really didn't care about lying to her. Aria, never. Mike, not if I could help it. Everyone that meant anything in the world to me, not if it was important. Meredith, maybe I'd tell her if she was in immediate danger. My whole body went on alert mode as she walked slowly into the room, I really hoped I wasn't even masking the expression I wanted to have as much as I thought I was.

"I was just wondering if you'd be around for lunch?" She said, "Some of us were heading out, wondered if you'd want to join."

"No, thank you," I said stoically, "I usually have lunch when Aria drops by."

Another lie, I only waited for her if I knew she was coming, which I knew she wasn't. She was going to the Grille after school with Emily and Hanna.

"After school?" She inferred condescendingly, "Don't you ever wonder what it'd be like to be dating a real woman?"

"No, I am," I replied, moving from behind my desk, "I can assure you of that. I do however wonder if you ever stop and wonder what it would be like to be human, to have souls, and feelings and things like that. To actually be able to care about another human being."

"Meredith?" Byron walked in without being invited.

"It's a party," I said somewhat disgruntledly as I headed for the door, "I'm going to go get some coffee before my class, you guys feel free to take this where ever else you want to."

After that it was a long day of avoiding both of them. What had Meredith been trying to pull by coming in like that? I shook my head trying to get everything that was wrong with both of them out of my head. I instead fixated on how I was going to get it so that Aria felt safe enough to go hang around with her brother. Obviously I wasn't welcome to go with her, Byron had made that obvious, and that hurt but it would hurt even more if Aria was in pain because she wasn't hanging out with her brother. I was starting compile a list of people I didn't think would mind going with her, at the top were Wren, Jason, and Spencer. Then, Wren was a medical student, and Spencer was – well – a professional student. I had to figure out a way to fix this for her.

"There you are," Aria's face brightened a little as I walked through the door, she was curled up on the couch.

"Everything ok?" I asked as I hung my coat, and she shook her head, starting to cry.

"We were supposed to have a movie night with Mike tonight," She pouted and I swooped in and landed next her, wrapping her up in my arms.

"It's ok, Aria," I whispered into her ear as she eased herself right into my lap, blanket and all, "I'm going to make it better."

"How?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know – but I'll figure something out, ok?" I promised and she nodded.

"You saw Mike at school, didn't you?"

"We had lunch together."

"Well that's good," I replied, kissing the top of her head, "I think it's best if we don't freak out about this until we have to. For now, you'll see him everyday for a week."

"Ok," She said, taking a deep rattling breath.

I stroked her hair, and kissed the side of her head as I tried to calm her down. Then I chuckled.

"I had an interesting run in with Meredith and your dad," I said, just trying to start conversation, "I think Meredith was trying to make a pass at me.."

"Aren't you supposed to be comforting me?" Aria looked up at me, one eyebrow up in her hairline.

"Sorry, I combatted it, and then your dad walked in," I said, I guessed it had seemed a lot funnier in my head, "Anyways… have you spoken to Jason lately?"

"That's actually why I was late for school yesterday," Aria replied, "He was waiting for me outside, and he wanted to talk about what he's found out about A. He hasn't really found anything solid, but he seems like he's on to something, but nothing solid just yet."

"Oh," I replied, leaning down and kissing her forehead softly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I just—"

"Don't worry about it," I smiled, pressing my forehead to hers affectionately, "I trust you, you don't have to report everything you've ever done, or are doing to me. If it's something important I know you'll tell me."

"Thanks," She smiled weakly, and I beamed back at her.

Then, just before we could have any more conversation, there was a knock on the door.

"You get the door," I smiled, kissing her forehead as I headed towards the kitchen, "I'll make us some dinner."

"Ok," She replied, as she walked over and got the door, her blanket over her shoulders.

I pouted a little bit as I got out some of the stuff I remembered from one of Aria's cooking lessons. I hated seeing her that way, I wanted to sock her dad, or at least let him see what he had done to his daughter. After all the things that Aria had been through, this was the most upset and depressed she had been. How could a father limit it so that his own daughter couldn't see her own brother?

"Jason?" Aria stepped aside, to let him walk into the apartment, "What're you doing here."

"I don't need to come in," I heard Jason say in a hurried, hushed tone, "You have to come with me though."

"What, Jason, I'm about to have dinner," She replied, and I walked around to get a visual of him standing in the doorway.

"Everything ok, Jason?" I asked and he nodded quickly, not making eye contact with me.

"Yeah," He said, then looked at Aria, "Ten minutes."

"Dinner won't be ready for a while," I said, "We can go with you, or you can just stay here."

"No offense, Ezra," Jason said, still not looking at me, "But I'd like to just talk to Aria."

"Ok," I replied and Aria gave me a sympathetic smile before allowing Jason to lead her away.

I went back to making dinner, my mind wondering what Jason could possibly want to talk to Aria alone about. We were all in it together, right? All three of us were desperately searching to figure out who A was. The other girls had let their prejudices against Jason and old suspects kill their investigations, but Aria, Jason, and I we were going after this together. We all wanted to be free from this monster, right?

I subconsciously put a hand on my scar, then shook my head. I couldn't do anything about it right now, Jason was perfectly at liberty to speak with Aria wherever he liked. As long as he didn't hurt her, and nothing happened – I decided that I could really care less. If it was something important, Aria would simply tell me when she got back, if not – let her keep her friend's secret. I finished making dinner and shoveled it onto two plates before setting them down on the table as Aria came back in.

"Everything ok?" I asked, going to meet her as she walked in, but she walked right by me.

"Everything's fine," She said, turning around halfway through the room, "Is dinner ready?"

She was trying too hard to be happy, it was almost chilling. I decided not to push it, maybe Jason was starting to go off his rocker. Who was I kidding, the guy had, I assumed, started slipping the second his sister disappeared. Maybe Aria was just worried about him, lately. She tended to worry about the people that she cared about, that must be it.

"It's right on the table," I smiled weakly- she sat down – and I went over and sat next to her on the couch.

I wanted to wrap her up in my arms, make it so that she didn't even have to think if she didn't want to. I was once again stuck with the craving need to get her somewhere far enough away so that she could leave all this drama behind her, behind us. The silence while we ate was killing me, but rather than force her to talk, I turned the TV on. I didn't like it, but knowing Aria, it was what she preferred. When she got into moods like that, the last thing she wanted was to talk it out – she would rather talk about it later, once she had processed.

"Do you want to do anything tonight?" I asked, "Go see a movie or something?"

"No, I have homework to do," She said and I nodded.

"Can I sit with you?" I asked and she shrugged.

"If you want," She said, "I have to review for finals – just looking over notes, it'll be boring."

"I'm looking for a little bit of that in my life," I smirked, and she nodded – not really comprehending what I had said to her – again, normal.

Once she got into the type of mode, she was just lost inside of her own head. I cleared our plates, and then sat back down as she pulled out her review sheets. I pulled my book off of the coffee table as I put an arm around her. She pulled a little bit away. I took the hint and pulled my arm back – I looked at her out of the side of my eye, trying to get a better idea of what could possibly be so wrong that she didn't even want me anywhere near her to that point. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head, then went back to my reading.

After about two hours of silence, she finally just got up – was clearly satisfied with the amount of studying she had done for her finals in the morning, and went and got into the shower. Once I heard the shower turn on I went over and changed into flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, then went and laid in bed with my book. I read the same paragraph six times before I realized that actually trying to read was futile. My mind was racing with thoughts, ways to try and help Aria, by helping Jason. I would try and catch up with him tomorrow.

"Feeling any better?" I asked Aria as she came out of the bathroom in her own pj's – running shorts and an old t-shirt.

"Not really," She replied and I pouted for her as I set my book aside.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked and she shook her head as she melted into her side of the bed.

"Not really," She responded, "Not yet."

"Ok," I said as she settled in beside me, facing the wall, "Would you mind if I cuddled with you a little bit?"

"I guess, I mean if you want," She mumbled and I pouted, draping an arm over her and snuggling up to her back.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me what's up?"

"I just miss Mike," She replied, and I nodded – knowing that this was mostly a lie, "We'll figure something out, ok?"

"Alright," She replied and I nodded as I snuggled into her a little tighter.

She was asleep much quicker than I was – or at least she was better at faking it than I was. I hated everything about this situation, she had been fine before Jason had shown up. Sure, she was missing Mike, but other than that she wasn't like this. I just wanted to know what Jason had said or done to cause her to be like this. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I didn't wake up when Aria left for school – and she didn't wake me up either.

She was usually very adamant about waking me up in the morning, even if it was just to kiss me goodbye, or hear me tell her good luck on her exams. I was sort of upset, but I assumed she was still upset from the night before, and didn't really blame her for not wanting to talk to me this morning. I got up and checked the time, I only had a couple hours before Aria'd be home from school. I had to run into the office, but then I would stop by Jason's. Maybe make some plans for the two of us, a guy night or something. Anything to make him feel better, and by proxy make Aria feel better.


	32. Can't be

A/N: Hey guys… sorry (again) that the chapter took so long (again, though I did gain a nephew)…. Sorry (again x2)..

After The Rainfall

Chapter Thirty-Two:

Aria.

I crawled out of bed the next morning very carefully to avoid waking Ezra up. The last thing I wanted was to have to talk, or for him to realize that I was still not feeling exactly myself. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn't do anything until I had fully processed, and that was going to take a little while. I didn't know what to do, and I didn't know what to say. I got out of the shower, and dressed in the bathroom. I slung my bag over my shoulder and looked over at Ezra, my sweet Ezra, still asleep in bed.

He couldn't be what Jason said he was. He couldn't possibly be that much of a liar. How could someone fake that much? How could Ezra fake that much? And was it that he didn't love me? Or that he never thought he'd have to deal with me finding out? What if I just ignored the whole thing? What if I just pretended that I never heard what Jason had told me? Would I ever be able to look at him the same? Would I eventually just be able to not care, as long as I still had him?

I took a deep breath, sitting on the back of the couch still watching him sleep. He was so peaceful, though I knew his mind was racing. He was worried about what was bothering me, or at least he had acted like he was the night before. But who actually knew? If he could –

I took out my phone and texted Jason.

_Tell me again. ~Aria_

_No. It'll only hurt more hearing/reading it again…I'll see you after your final? ~Jason_

_Yeah, and thanks I'll need it. ~Aria._

I was still watching Ezra sleep, I wanted to curl up in his arms and forget the whole thing. All I wanted was him, and for everything not to be nearly as crazy as it was. What kind of life was this that I was trying to lead. Then, he started to stir and I jumped – I didn't want him to wake up while I was still there. I went out the door before I gave him a chance to wake up. I assumed he would just roll over and fall back to sleep without even knowing he had scared me. Was I really scared of him waking up with me there?

"Aria, are you ok?" Spencer asked as I walked into my English Final, luckily I only really had to know the stories for this one.

"I'm fine," I replied, still completely on another planet.

"No, you're not," Emily leaned over.

"Did something happen with Fitz?" Hanna asked and I shook my head.

"No, I just have a lot on my mind," I replied, "Don't worry about it, ok?"

"Ok," They replied, and we all took our seats as our new teacher walked in.

"Now," She said, "Since from what I understand this class has been rather disrupted – what with having three different teachers. So, for your final I've decided that you will be writing one essay. Pick whichever book that the class has covered this year and write an essay in response to the essay question on your paper. I left them pretty vague so you can pretty much write whatever you want. If you have anything else you'd like to write about – I'm open to suggestions. Mona, pass these out to your classmates, please?"

The teacher handed Mona the papers, and she went through the aisles and passed them out to each of us. The essay didn't take me very long, but I finished towards the middle of the pack – so I wasn't too worried about it. English was my only final, so I walked out of class, stopped at my locker to make sure nothing else was in there, and headed out to the parking lot. Mike had two finals, so he wouldn't be out until later. So, I drove out to Jason's.

The plan was that I would rant to him for a while, then we'd go over and visit with Mike for a while. I pulled into his driveway, and there was already another car sitting there, and it took me not even a minute to realize who's it was. It was Ezra. What was he doing here? Why?

_I know you just got out, so I hope you get this. Ezra's here. He thinks you're upset because I'm not doing well. Give me a few to get rid of him? Or you can just come if you want… ~Jason. _

_I'm already here, I'll be in in a minute. ~Aria._

I got out of the car, leaving everything but my phone in the car, and heading up towards the house. I took a deep breath, and walked through the front door without knocking, and walking into the living room without a thought. Jason and Ezra were sitting in the living room, each with a beer in their hand.

"What're you doing here?" I asked Ezra and he shrugged.

"I have days to myself, remember?" He smiled at me, "I was feeling a little lonely, so I figured I'd come hang out with Jason – what're you doing here?"

"Jason was going to come with me to see Mike," I said and Ezra looked taken aback, then recovered.

"Oh, that's good," He replied, "I'm glad you're able to see him. Thanks, Jason for doing that."

"It's no problem," Jason replied, smiling too, because he felt like he should.

"Ok, then," Ezra said, getting up and coming towards me, "I'll head out then, if you guys're headed over to see Mike…"

He leaned in and kissed my forehead sweetly.

"I love you," He said, and I did my best to beam like I usually did as he turned to Jason, "See you later, man."

Jason and I both stood in the living room in silence as Ezra left, and hopped into his car. He was pulling out of the driveway and off down the road before either of us even looked at each other.

"I'm sorry," Jason told her, opening his arms up and letting me walk into them for a quick hug, then I stepped out, "I was so surprised when he showed up, then I didn't know what to do. So I sent out a text so you would have an option to hide if you wanted to…"

"I don't want to hide from him," I said bravely, "I'm not sure what I'm really going to do about it yet, but I love him, Jason. And, he loves me. There's a reason why I personally haven't been physically attacked by A, maybe it's because he is involved. Maybe it's because he's protecting me…"

"Weird way to protect you," Jason commented.

"Well maybe I was the one A thought they were going to stab," I replied, "Maybe he took it for me. And maybe he knew A was going to use someone to attack mom and Mike, and that's how he was the first one there. Maybe he was in on all of it. So he tried to save them but was too late for mom."

"Maybe," Jason didn't seem convinced, but he didn't have to be.

When Jason told me the night before that he had sufficient evidence that Ezra was in on what was going on with A, my whole world crashed in around me. He had pictures of Ezra in weird places, around where A had been from the beginning. I knew that there had to be a catch, I had known he was there on all occasions, just not where the photos had him. I didn't know what to think. Jason had gone a little A-crazy lately – maybe Ezra was just next on his list of suspects that ranged from Melissa Hastings to the mailman to the homeless guy on the corner. Who was next?

And maybe it didn't matter if Ezra was in on it. What if he really was protecting me from the inside. He obviously really loved me, he wasn't going to throw me away like a piece of trash. I never once thought, or think that he would ever hurt me. My mind had been spinning since the second Jason had told me, trying to come up with something that would justify and explain – I had. Ezra may be involved, but he was shielding me.

"You ready to head over to see Mike?" Jason asked and I nodded.

We hopped into the car and drove over to the house, where dad and Mike were just getting out of the car. Mike smiled wide and ran right over to me to throw his arms around me as we got out.

"I didn't think you'd come," He said and I smiled.

"Well I got Jason to come with me," I replied and he smiled.

Dad looked less than pleased as he looked to Jason, but didn't say anything as we all walked into the house. It was weird, being there, I hadn't in so long. Mike, Jason, and I plopped down in the living room on the couch and Dad, rather grumbling, headed off in the general direction of his office.

"I missed you so much," I said, leaning over and hugging my brother.

"I missed you too," He smiled as he dropped his bookbag over the arm of the couch.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jason told him, "Your sister and I'll come visit you pretty often, that is until your dad lets up about Ezra."

"He's out of control," Mike replied, "In all of this, what have I ever done? How am I the prisoner."

"You're bait," I told him, "Bait to get me back into this house. I'm so sorry."

"I understand," He said simply, "So how is Ezra?"

"He misses you," I told him and he smiled a little.

"Well tell him I miss him too," Mike said, "And tell him that I'm almost done with that book he gave me."

"What book?"

"He'd given me a few to read," Mike replied, "I hadn't but now I've started to."

"That's great, Mike," I smiled, "I'm sure he'll be so happy to hear that. How'd your finals go today?"

We visited with Mike for a few hours, then I dropped Jason at his house and headed home. I was still not quite sure to make of Ezra, but all I wanted to do was go home and collapse into his arms. There was no harm in that if he didn't know I knew right? And even if he did… I knew that he loved me, that could've never been a lie. Could it have been?

"You have a nice visit with Mike?" Ezra asked as I walked in, he was lying on the bed reading.

"I did," I smiled, pushing everything else but how much I loved the man before me out of my head, "I can't believe it's summer already."

"Oh, right," He smiled, "You're all done today."

"I am," I replied as I got onto the bed and curled up next to him.

"We should celebrate," He smiled, setting his book aside and wrapping his arms around me, kissing my forehead.

"We should?"

"Yeah," He replied, "Let's do something fun tomorrow."

"Fun?" I smiled, then teased, "What is this 'fun' you speak of?"

"Ah, but it does exist," He smiled mischievously as he leaned down and kissed me, "It's good to see you in such a better mood."

"Good to be in one," I smiled weakly as he scooted down to be eye-level with me.

"You know, all this talk about fun," Ezra smirked, as he wrapped me up in his arms and pulled me close, "You know, I could show a lot of that right about now."

"Oh, could you?" I teased him as he leaned in and kissed me.

"Any time."


End file.
